The Crown
by CherryDarlingxo
Summary: A silly bet Cindy makes with her friends ends up with higher stakes than she intended: either win prom queen or suffer the embarrassment of asking her mortal enemy on a date. Unfortunately, none of her classmates are willing to vote for the girl that hasn't exactly been the nicest throughout high school. Luckily she knows someone that might be able to help her. JimmyxCindy.
1. cat lady

**Hellooo all! I know I should be focusing on my current story** _ **Dangerous**_ **right now, but the idea for this story hasn't left my head in months. This story won't be too long...just a couple chapters. I'll still be writing my other story, of course - the next chapter is about halfway done! I think taking a small break to gather ideas and thoughts is healthy. My other story is pretty serious most of the time and I wanted to try something funnier and lighter for a little while!**

 **I hope you all like this story featuring a slightly grumpier, less angsty Cindy (compared to the version I'm writing for my other story). I'm also testing out third person POV. Not sure how I feel about it.**

 **If you haven't read my other story (which you should, duh) then you can ignore all of this. Just know that I'm the queen of long author's notes.**

 **I don't own anything in the Jimmy Neutron world.**

 **The Crown**

January meant the start of a new semester for Retroville High students, and also the beginning of months long in-your-face advertising for the most popular event of any given school year: Prom. Sometimes when Cindy Vortex caught a glimpse of the huge poster that was located conveniently on the wall next to her locker, she wanted to gag, but usually refrained.

Libby was already seated at the lunch table when Cindy plopped her tray down across from her. "If I have to spend the next four and half months listening to every little girl and boy in this school talk about prom incessantly then I'm not going," she exclaimed as she sat down.

"Don't be so dramatic," Libby chided, but her eyes went wide nonetheless. "You didn't go to prom last year! This is our last year of high school, we _have_ to go."

"I don't _have_ to do anything."

"Prom is so fun, Cindy! You should definitely go!" A girl that sat on the other end of the lunch table named Jennifer piped up.

"And you should definitely stop eavesdropping," Cindy replied, smirking. Jennifer frowned and didn't say another word.

Libby just rolled her eyes. She was used to Cindy's bad temper and blunt remarks. But not everyone knew that it was just her main way of communicating; malice not always included.

Brittany Tenelli sat down next Libby gracefully.

"Are you not eating?" Cindy asked, noticing she hadn't brought a lunch tray with her.

"I can't eat anymore school food. It makes me fat," Brittany whined.

"Can you please help me convince Cindy to go to prom?" Libby asked her pleadingly.

Brittany's eyes went comically wide, just as Libby's had moments ago. "You're not going to prom?" She asked Cindy.

"I was weighing the pros and cons of going and as of right now the cons are piling up," Cindy said, concentrating on dissecting the mystery school meat on her tray.

"Oh my god, you have to go. It's the biggest school-"

"-event of the year, yeah. I've heard," Cindy finished Brittany's sentence for her.

It wasn't that prom was _that_ bad. Sure, the general camaraderie surrounding the event was annoying but Cindy was annoyed by most lively things. She hadn't attended prom her junior year due to a stomach bug that led to a night of hanging out by the toilet instead of wearing the brand new dress she'd begged her mother to buy. She had been just a little jealous scrolling through the pictures of everyone having a great time while she laid miserably in what she considered to be her deathbed.

Needless to say, she felt like she'd missed out on one prom, so why not another? Her parents wouldn't have to buy an expensive dress that she would never wear again. She also wouldn't have to suffer through the embarrassment of trying to find a date considering her boyfriend, Logan, had dumped her three days ago.

 _I don't think this is going to work out_ he'd said, along with _all of my friends think you're intimidating._ Neither statements had hurt her feelings too badly but she'd started yelling at him anyway. Maybe she'd called him "dumb" in passing - she couldn't really remember. Before he'd left he'd told her _you're going end up as an old, lonely cat lady with that attitude._

So maybe that comment had hurt a little.

But Cindy had already decided she didn't need a boyfriend. She had better things to focus on anyway, like trying to slide up from her number two spot in the class to the number one spot - aka being the valedictorian. That was no easy feat if you thought about how there was an actual genius currently sitting comfortably in the number one spot. She also had college applications to finish and send off in just a few weeks, which would explain the recent angry outbursts that everyone around her had to experience.

"Not only that, but it's all downhill from there," Brittany sighed. "Then we graduate and move away and just...die."

"I think you skipped a few years between moving away and dying," Cindy said, one brow raised.

Libby wasn't happy with how this conversation was going. At this rate they would convince Cindy to attend prom when they were all eighty years old.

"Maybe we should just give up, Brittany," Libby said, trying a different tactic. "We'll have to go to prom without Cindy. It's really a shame. I guess Grace Walker was right."

Like the words _Grace Walker_ were one of Cindy's active triggers, her eyes narrowed. "What was she right about?"

Libby just shrugged. "I overheard her talking to Millie Andrews about running for prom queen. Grace thinks she's got it in the bag. Millie was asking her who she thought her competition would be and your name came up. Apparently Grace doesn't think you've got what it takes."

At this point, even Libby was impressed by her own lying skills. She felt a little bad for stretching the truth. She'd never heard such conversation between Grace and Millie. She was essentially throwing Grace under the bus for her own personal gain...but it was too late to worry about that now.

"That little bitch," Cindy muttered. "Who is she to say that I don't have what it takes? What does that even mean?"

"I think she means that you'd lose," Brittany quipped and Cindy contemplated dumping her drink over her head.

"Well she's wrong," Cindy said matter-of-factly.

"You think you can win?" Libby asked.

"I don't think it'd be too hard to beat goody two shoes Grace."

"You should do it!" Brittany exclaimed, pumping her first in the air excitedly.

Grace Walker held the attention of most people, especially of the young male variety, despite being the one of the most irritating people alive - in Cindy's opinion, anyway. She was quiet but was always smiling as if she had a secret. She was tall and slim and possessed a mean baton-twirling ability. Something about Grace and her halo of long, perfect red hair rubbed Cindy the wrong way.

"Uh, absolutely not."

"I bet you can't win," Libby said bravely, knowing such a statement might put her on the receiving end of a rampage. Cindy glared at her.

"Excuse me?" Cindy asked, surprised by her friend's behavior.

"I bet you won't beat Grace. She's pretty much got a cult following," Libby replied. All three girls took a glance at the lunch table Grace was seated at. There wasn't an empty seat around her and she was smiling in such a way that she knew something no one else did.

"I'll take you up on that bet," Cindy said confidently. Libby cheered internally. She'd just tricked her best friend into going to prom and it was like taking candy from a baby.

"What are the stakes?" Brittany asked.

They were all silent for a while, pondering the question. Cindy gasped suddenly and said, "I got it. If I do win prom queen, you have to ask Sheen on a date."

It was the most well-known secret that Libby had a huge crush on Sheen, and it was most definitely reciprocated - but somehow nearly four years of high school had passed without them making it official.

Libby blushed and shrugged. "Fine. But if you lose, you also have to ask someone on a date."

Cindy froze with her drink halfway to her mouth. She had a bad feeling about this. "...who?"

Libby and Brittany exchanged a devious look. They had the perfect person in mind.

"Jimmy Neutron."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy wasn't sure how Jimmy had charmed the student population the way that he had. She could begrudgingly admit that the past years had been good to him; he was taller, more muscular, and was much less awkward than he'd been in his middle school days. Annoyingly enough, he was on the good side of seemingly every teacher in the school. He was in every single academic club. He had a lot of friends since he got along with mostly everyone.

To everyone else, it had probably seemed like his arrogant attitude and haughty know-it-all tone had simply waned with time. Cindy knew better. They were still toe-to-toe in most of their classes and he always managed to slide into first place no matter what. She should be used to it by now, but that little smirk he always gave her after getting a higher score on an exam than her was just as infuriating now as it was when they were eleven.

It was a cruel cycle, really. School had only started back up following the holiday break two weeks ago and Cindy was already tangled up in lab reports, term papers, and quizzes in her classes.

Currently she was sitting in AP Calculus, impatiently watching the teacher hand back the quiz they had taken yesterday. She peeked at the grade immediately after receiving the paper. Ninety-eight percent. _Jesus_.

She looked up to see Jimmy, who sat in the row next to hers but a few seats ahead, turning around to look at her. He flipped his paper up so she could see - one hundred percent. Of course.

She glared at him and there it was - that damn arrogant smirk.

He turned around before she could unceremoniously flip him the bird.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Let me see that," Cindy unashamedly snatched Jimmy's quiz out of his hand the second they were out of the classroom.

"Fess up, Vortex. What did you get?"

"I'm not telling you anything. I just want to know how you bribed Mr. Reid into giving you a one hundred on everything."

"It comes with the genius territory."

Cindy followed him to his locker, still scanning his test to try to find where she'd made a mistake on hers.

"Hey guys," a sickly sweet voice sounded right next to her.

"Hey Grace," Jimmy replied with a huge smile on his face. Cindy resisted the urge to throw up in her mouth. She wasn't sure if he could be any more obvious about his little crush he had on the redhead.

Grace Walker stood there in all her 5'8'' glory, looking a little bit like she belonged in an ad for a sophisticated clothing store with her expensive-looking outfit and perfectly curled hair.

"You might've heard by now that I'm running for prom queen," Grace said with a laugh. "This is a little embarrassing, but my friends insisted I hand these out."

She handed both of them a small circular object. Cindy realized it was a pin. It was bright pink and had Grace's face on it.

"You don't waste any time, do you?" Cindy asked.

Grace shrugged. "No one wins anything by sitting around," she said simply.

"You're right about that," Jimmy agreed, nodding. The two of them shared a smile and Cindy rolled her eyes, a move that went unnoticed by anyone else.

"Where did you get these made?" Cindy asked abruptly.

"A printing shop downtown makes them. The name is on the back," Grace said. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering."

Grace walked away to continue her mission to pin the school with her face. Jimmy looked at Cindy suspiciously. "It's like I can hear the gears in your brain moving as I speak. What's going on?"

"Nothing, Nerdtron," Cindy tossed his forgotten quiz and the pin in her hand into his open locker. He rolled his eyes.

Cindy left to go to her next class. Grace had been sort of right - she wouldn't win prom queen unless she tried. She was thinking that maybe she needed to get a head start on a campaign if she actually wanted to win this bet.

Winning would be a small prize compared to the look on Grace's face when Cindy beat her.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The rest of the week flew by quickly. Friday was the official day that planning for prom would begin; the prom committee would start having regular meetings and the king and queen nominations would be tallied.

In order to win prom queen, you had to be nominated, which wasn't hard to accomplish if you had any sort of motivation to win. Nominations were held silently - the fiasco from a few years ago where two girls got into a hair-pulling fight in front of the entire school caused a change in how the school did things. Libby and Brittany had planned on writing Cindy's name down since nominations only required two people.

"That won't work," Brittany said as Libby was telling her and Cindy this plan. "Since our class has so many people in it they changed the rules. You need to have three people to nominate you now."

"Shit! Who can we convince to help us?" Libby asked.

Cindy crossed her arms and glared at Libby. "What do you mean by _convince_?"

"Why don't we ask them?" Brittany pointed to a group of girls that were standing and talking just a few feet down the hallway. "I think they sit at our lunch table."

Without another word, Cindy marched over to the group. She didn't really know any of them but their faces looked familiar. She didn't really know how to go about it, but she figured that picking out the most vulnerable looking one would be her best bet. She decided on the short brunette that looked a little shy. Cindy pointed at her as interrupted their conversation. "Hey, can you do me a favor and nominate me for prom queen?"

The girl stood there for a moment with her mouth slightly open in shock before she burst into peals of laughter. "You're kidding me right?"

Cindy rolled her eyes. "It's not that hard to do. You plan on nominating anyone else?"

"I hadn't planned on it. But I definitely won't be helping _you_."

The attitude of this girl had Cindy feeling slightly stunned. "What's your problem?" She inquired.

"My problem? You were the one that snapped at me lunch the other day for no reason," the girl snapped. Realization dawned on Cindy quickly. She barely remembered the incident but now that she thought about, she did know this girl's name. Jennifer or something.

"Well, you were eavesdropping," Cindy said simply shrugging. "Are you gonna help me or not?"

"Not," Jennifer sneered. "Good luck."

The small group of girls walked away, giggling. Cindy had a feeling Jennifer wasn't being sincere when she said _good luck_. What a bust.

She returned to Libby and Brittany, who were waiting impatiently. "What did they say?" Libby asked.

"They...uh...didn't seem interested in helping," Cindy replied.

"Great," Libby groaned. "What are we going to do now?"

Still feeling the slight shame of being turned down by a group of girls she didn't even know, Cindy wasn't feeling too keen on the whole idea of being nominated anymore.

"If I don't get nominated then it's whatever. The bet is off," Cindy said. "I'm going to class."

She walked away, leaving the other two girls to come up with a plan on their own.

"Maybe we should leave it up to fate," Brittany said, shrugging.

Libby glanced at the clock on the wall. They only had a few minutes until first period, where nominations were going to be taking place before class started.

"I don't like that idea, but it looks as if we have no other choice."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

After a long day, Cindy wanted nothing more than to go home and hide in her room for the majority of the weekend. All she wanted was to finish her college application essays in peace. She was sitting in her AP Calculus class, tapping her foot against the leg of her desk and watching the clock impatiently, when a voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Good afternoon everyone! Since you've all been waiting all day for the announcement of the 2018 prom court members, I'll make this short and sweet."

Cindy rolled her eyes and tuned out the rest of the announcement. She knew the bet she'd made with Libby was just a ploy to get her to attend prom. She'd let it happen because secretly she wanted the feeling of dressing up and having a night of fun before graduating.

Over the past few days, she'd done some thinking. Cindy had spent most of her high school career worried about grades, her GPA, and being the best at everything - which she hadn't even succeeded at considering she usually came in second place. She realized now she had missed out on many parties and events that could've been enjoyable if she'd actually attended them.

Maybe Logan had been right after all. Maybe she would end up as a lonely cat lady.

She glanced up at the clock again but realized that she had several sets of eyes on her. She also noticed that the announcements were over. "What?" She asked.

The girl next to her laughed. "Were you not paying attention?"

"What did I miss?" she asked while shaking her head.

"Cindy, you got nominated for prom queen."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

 **You may find Cindy annoying right now, but give her a chance. Character development is in her future!**

 **Please review!**


	2. weird science

**Hello everyone!**

 **A lovely reviewer pointed out that it sounds like Grace looks like the actress Madelaine Petsch or Cheryl from Riverdale. You can google her if you want, she's actually what I was picturing for Grace's character. It's not super important to the story but I know some people like visuals. :)**

 **Hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's so different writing a new story after writing my other one for two or three months straight!**

 **I'll be putting a poll up on my profile soon about which story that YOU want me to write next. I'm probably jumping way ahead of myself...I won't be starting another story until after I finish** _ **Dangerous**_ **but I get antsy easily** **. But you can go to my profile for more info!**

 **The Crown**

Libby was elated when she learned that Cindy had actually been nominated for prom court, despite the blonde's less than enthused reaction. Maybe that group of girls had taken pity and decided to vote for Cindy, after all.

"This is going to be very interesting," Brittany mused as she watched an unbothered Grace Walker walk down the hallway with a small gaggle of girls following closely behind.

"We might have our work cut out for us," Libby whispered to Brittany. They both looked over at Cindy, who was roughly shoving her books into her backpack, grumbling the entire time.

Seemingly aware she had a couple sets of eyes on her, she looked up at her friends. "What?" She asked grumpily.

"Who else do you think nominated you?" Libby asked quickly before things could escalate.

Cindy stood up and shut her locker, heaving her bulging backpack over her shoulder and wincing as she did so. "I have no idea. I figured you convinced someone to do it."

"I thought maybe you nominated yourself," Brittany said while giggling. Cindy rolled her eyes.

"You have to write your name on the ballot when you vote so she if she voted for herself it would've been thrown out. I swear it's harder to cheat votes for prom court in this school than it is for real elections," Libby replied.

"Let's just hope winning will be as easy as getting nominated will be," Cindy muttered.

The trio usually waited for the hallways to mostly clear out before they left the school building, not wanting to deal with a huge crowd of people. Fridays were no exception even with the eager feeling of wanting to leave their responsibilities behind for a whole weekend. Cindy felt no such eager feeling. She could feel the pressure of all of her homework assignments to do and college applications to finish. Now she had this annoying prom queen situation to deal with.

Someone bumped into her from behind, nearly making her teeter over with the weight of her backpack working against her. She turned as quickly as she could to confront the person who was now standing rudely in between her and Libby.

"Libby! I can't believe you were shunned! I demand a re-vote. You deserve to be on prom court," Sheen said passionately, causing the girl next to him to blush.

"Uhh, don't worry about it. I didn't want to be on court anyway," Libby assured him.

Sheen was either unaware of Cindy's death glare or just didn't care. Either way, she was about five seconds away from stomping on his foot.

"What are you yelling about now?" A new voice entered the conversation and Cindy turned her head. Jimmy was standing behind the group now with Carl next to him.

"I was just telling Libby how unfair it is how the prettiest girl in the school isn't on prom court," Sheen explained calmly. Libby's blush went even darker and Brittany giggled.

It was a common occurrence for Sheen and Libby to do a little flirting when they were around each other for more than a few minutes, causing their friends to be a little frustrated with how neither would officially make a move. Not only did Cindy want to win for the sake of winning - and so she wouldn't have to ask Nerdtron on a date - she wanted to win so the suffering would end for everyone who had to witness their interactions. Although she found Sheen to be annoying and insufferable most of the time, she would put up with it if that's who Libby really wanted to be with it.

But she would make sure everyone knew she was unhappy about it.

Sensing they weren't going to be moving for awhile, Cindy plopped her backpack on the ground with a heavy _thud_. Jimmy looked at her with a raised brow. "Do you have books in there or rocks?"

"Very funny. I don't like to procrastinate."

The genius tried to refrain from rolling his eyes. Sometimes Cindy took school and studying more seriously than she needed to...and that was saying a lot coming from him.

"Congratulations, by the way," he said to her.

"For what?"

"You got nominated for prom queen," Jimmy said slowly, as if she'd lost her memory and forgotten everything.

"I know that, Nerdtron. But is it really a cause for congratulations?" Cindy retorted.

"Maybe you should give your nomination to Libby since you're so ungrateful," Sheen chimed in.

"I don't think it works that way, Sheen," Carl said.

Cindy did what she'd been considering for a few minutes now and stomped on Sheen's foot as hard as she could. He grabbed his foot and hopped around on the other for a few moments, cursing the "blonde devil" under his breath. Everyone else ignored him.

"We should be telling you congratulations, too!" Brittany said to Jimmy. He just shrugged and gave a small smile.

Cindy looked at Brittany oddly. "Why?"

"Jimmy got nominated too."

Cindy suddenly had an unbidden image of Jimmy and Grace standing on stage as they won king and queen. She tried to imagine how _she_ would feel if she were to win alongside Jimmy. She would most definitely feel annoyed in either situation.

"I'm sure you'll win, too. You don't have much competition," Libby said while laughing.

Cindy wished she had paid attention during the announcements. "Who else got nominated?"

"Danny Rodriguez. He's the captain of the baseball team, I think. And Logan."

Heart sinking all the way down to her stomach, Cindy wondered if she really could give Libby her nomination. She didn't want to participate anymore.

A slightly uncomfortable silence had fallen over the group - everyone knew Logan and Cindy had recently broken up but no details had been discussed. Libby had been waiting for the right moment to ask Cindy about it but she knew this wasn't it.

Sheen, who was ignorant to the awkward moment that was occurring, was only interested in leaving school premises as quickly as possible. "Can we leave now?" He whined to Jimmy and Carl. "I'm starving."

Jimmy shrugged. "I'm ready when you are."

"What are you guys doing tonight?" Brittany asked slyly, hoping that she could somehow squeeze Libby and Sheen into a corner somewhere so they could work things out privately.

"Going to the Candy Bar," Sheen said excitedly. "That's the first stop anyway. You guys should come with."

The guys had never really grown out of making multiple trips to the Candy Bar a week, even though it was mostly overrun with the younger crowd now.

"We'll meet you there," Libby said suddenly and Brittany looked at her in surprise.

"Count me out. I've got too much stuff to do," Cindy said stubbornly.

"Oh, c'mon Vortex. You can spare a few hours. It is Friday after all," Jimmy teased.

"You are coming with us," Libby said, backing Jimmy up. "I'm your ride anyway."

"I'll just walk home," Cindy replied, but she was eyeing her backpack warily as she did so. She lived over a mile from the school and it was January. Those factors combined with her heavy backpack would make for a miserable walk. Jimmy grabbed the said backpack and put it over his shoulder easily. Cindy just stared at him in shock.

"Looks like I'll be holding this hostage, then. Let's go," he took off down the hall and the rest of the group followed suit.

Libby eventually had to come back and tug on Cindy's arm to get her to move.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy felt a little out of her element as they chose the only unoccupied half-circle booth and she was squeezed somewhat uncomfortably in between Jimmy and Brittany. She hadn't been in the Candy Bar for what felt like forever. While the place looked mostly the same as it always had, it certainly felt different. Even the menu had changed over the years.

Not to mention, they hadn't all hung out as a group in quite some time, either. Although she was best friends with Libby and Brittany and hung out with them often, they rarely hung out with the guys. Everyone was busy with their own activities, part-time jobs, and extracurriculars. They had all remained friends and of course saw each other at school on a daily basis, but their group dynamic had changed slowly over the years. Cindy couldn't really say that she knew a whole lot about Jimmy Neutron anymore. It wasn't as if they were exactly strangers, just that sometimes in her mind she still saw the dorky neighbor boy whose inventions wreaked havoc on the city. It was hard to reconcile that image with the present day Jimmy. She knew he was still the arrogant genius she grew up with. She knew that he'd matured over the past few years.

But it was almost as if she only knew him from afar, despite the ongoing rivalry they still kept alive like an old tradition. If it weren't for being neighbors or going to the same school she wasn't sure if they would ever talk. She felt a little nostalgic as subtly took a peek at him as he looked at the menu, unaware of her watching him.

"I'm going to order one of everything," Sheen said.

"The last time you did that you threw up," Carl replied. "Maybe you should only get half of the menu this time."

"Good idea, Carl."

 _Some things never change_ , Cindy thought. _Those two are still idiots._

"What are you getting?" Jimmy directed the question to her, breaking her out of her thoughts.

She was about to answer when a burst of sound near the entrance caught everyone's attention. Grace Walker had entered the building and unsurprisingly enough, she wasn't alone. She had brought at least four others along.

"I heard she's secretly a witch and hypnotizes people so they will do what she wants," Brittany stage-whispered.

"Where did you hear that?" Carl asked with wide eyes.

"Don't listen to her, Carl," Jimmy said. "It's just a rumor."

"I'd believe it," Cindy muttered but not quietly enough for no one to hear her.

"Grace is actually pretty funny and down-to-earth. She's in debate club with me," Jimmy said casually.

"How do you know what down-to-earth means?" and "You only say that because you have a crush on her!" Cindy and Sheen said at the same time. Jimmy ignored them both.

Cindy glanced at Grace, who was sitting at the counter, toying with her flawlessly styled hair. Her laugh was loud enough to overpower everyone else's voice in the room - although Cindy might only think that it did because of her fascinating ability to only pay attention to things that bothered her about someone.

At the same time Jimmy was watching Grace, too. He didn't really have a crush on her like Sheen claimed. They were just friends. Sure, she was beautiful and clever, and he probably wouldn't say no if she asked him to go out with her. But he was also pretty sure that she was out of his league and that's where she would stay.

Cindy cursed herself for never joining debate club. Not only would it have looked good on all her college applications, but she would've loved to show Grace up at something.

"Maybe you should ask her out, Jim," Carl said while eating his ice cream. Jimmy just shook his head.

"You should do it right now. It's the perfect timing!" Sheen said. No one said anything about how Sheen probably wouldn't know anything about timing, or asking a girl out.

"No way in hell," Jimmy said.

As if she could sense she were being talked about, Grace turned her attention towards the group that was quietly discussing her. Abandoning her friends at the counter, she sauntered over to their table.

"Congratulations, you two!" She gave Cindy and Jimmy a big smile. "Looks like we'll be sharing the stage in a few months."

"Can't wait," Jimmy replied, returning Grace's infectious smile. Cindy just wanted to slink down into her seat and escape this entire situation forever.

"Cindy, if you need any help with your campaign just let me know, okay?" Grace winked, still smiling, and walked off without waiting for a reply.

A wide-eyed Libby glanced at Cindy, who looked beyond disgruntled.

"She's definitely a witch," Brittany said.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The next week, Libby came to school prepared. She'd made five different flyer options. She had plans. She'd done it all without permission or consent from Cindy because the girl had the tendency to be a little bossy, and she wanted to work freely. Although she had technically bet _against_ Cindy winning prom queen, she still wanted her to actually win.

"What is all that?" Cindy asked when Libby arrived at her locker.

As prepared as she was, Libby had forgotten a folder to carry everything in, and she was dangerously close to dropping everything. "Girl, I spent most of yesterday making this stuff. Check it out."

Cindy's eyes nearly bulged out of her hand when she caught sight of the flyers.

"You don't like them?" Libby asked hesitantly.

"Libby, they look great. But are they necessary?"

"Have you looked around lately?"

Cindy did just that, and sure enough, Grace's face was everywhere. She even saw a poster or two up of the third nominee, Hannah, squeezed in here and there.

"This is all just too weird. Nominations were only three days ago. And two of them were not school days!"

"So you see why it's necessary, then. If you think about it we are actually behind."

Cindy groaned. "This is just ridiculous. But whatever, just post those I guess."

"We're going to need more than five posters," Libby raised a brow.

This was going to be more hard work than they all imagined. Libby took off to a computer room, promising to print off more posters but that was the least of Cindy's worries - she hadn't noticed the huge poster plastered right next to her locker with her ex-boyfriend's face on it.

She was thinking about ripping it down when she felt a presence next to her.

"Looks pretty good, huh?"

Speak of the devil and he will appear.

"Leave me alone," Cindy said while shutting her locker.

"Is that how you're gonna treat your future prom king?" Logan waggled his eyebrows.

Now that they were broken up, Cindy wasn't sure what she had seen in him. Before they were together she'd considered him funny and smarter than the average teenage boy. And of course he was attractive. That was the problem though - he knew he was attractive and charming. His cockiness was sort of unbearable.

Cindy laughed condescendingly. "In your dreams."

"I have a higher chance of winning than you do," Logan sneered, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall next to his poster.

Adjusting her backpack straps across her shoulders, Cindy glared at him. "What makes you say that?"

"Cindy, ask anyone," he said seriously. "They'll tell you they would rather vote for Grace or even Hannah because even though you're hot, you can be a real bitch sometimes."

She wished she could say that she hadn't heard him say something similar to her before, but she had. Usually she would scoff and call him an idiot but this time his comments were particularly hurtful. She usually didn't think twice about what he said, either. But maybe he was right.

Logan shrugged and walked off, leaving Cindy to her own detrimental thoughts.

Damn it. She was going to need some serious help.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy called an emergency meeting, which involved Libby and Brittany coming to her house after school.

"I have an idea," Cindy announced immediately after the three girls were in her room with the door shut behind them. "I think I know how I can win this."

Brittany plopped herself down onto Cindy's bed, making herself comfortable, but Libby just crossed her arms. "Do tell."

"Nerdtron seems pretty nice, doesn't he?"

Libby and Brittany shared a look that suggest Cindy might be off her rocker.

"...sure, Cin. He's alright. What are you getting at?" Libby asked slowly.

Cindy huffed frustratedly. "He's so nice that he's probably going to win prom king. Especially since everyone knows Logan is an ass and Danny Rodriguez is dumber than a box of rocks."

"True, but how does that help you?" Brittany had a confused look on her face.

"I'll just simply ask him to help me out a little. If he's so smart then I'm sure he has some tips to give out about getting people to like me. I mean...vote for me. Plenty of people like me," Cindy said.

"Suuuure," Libby agreed. "You sound so convinced. I'm sure that's why you're going to ask Jimmy for help." Cindy visibly deflated and sat down next to Brittany on her bed. Libby immediately felt bad. "Cindy, people _do_ like you. And they will like you even more if you just...hold back on the insults for a few months. They are all stupid anyway. They will forget you were ever mean to them."

"I'm doomed, and it's going to look super embarrassing when Grace Walker beats me by a landslide."

"Hey, I never said asking Jimmy for help was a bad idea," Libby argued.

"I'm sure Jimmy wouldn't mind helping you. He helped me pass my trig final last semester," Brittany chimed in helpfully.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure this conversation will go well," Cindy said sarcastically. "The second I ask him for help he'll probably be rubbing it in my face."

"I think you'd be surprised," Libby said. "He's not such a little shit anymore. He probably wouldn't say much if you asked him to help you."

Cindy hoped Libby was right. The last thing she wanted was to be ridiculed by Jimmy when asking him for help was going to be hard enough the way it was.

While Cindy stewed in her feelings of doubt and indecision, Libby was secretly pleased. She knew that her stubborn friend hated asking for help so this was a big step for her. She liked the thought of Cindy and Jimmy spending time together, too.

After all, she'd always believed they would make a cute - if not slightly dysfunctional - couple. Maybe she would end up being right.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy didn't want to waste any time so she decided to talk to Jimmy the following day after school. Her only problem was that she didn't know what to say. Like most social situations, she decided to just improvise.

"Hey Nerdtron," Cindy greeted as nicely as she could. She'd followed him from their last class to his locker and he hadn't even noticed.

"Cindy?" Jimmy had a confused expression. "What's up?"

"Well...I actually had something to ask you…" She was suddenly aware of all the people around them. She couldn't really have anyone hearing what she was planning. That would ruin everything.

Jimmy was looking at her expectantly and didn't say anything.

"Can you just come to my house after school?"

"You can't just ask me here?" Jimmy was even more confused now.

"No!" Starting to get annoyed, she rolled her eyes. "Just meet me at my house and don't ask so many questions."

She stomped off, leaving Jimmy to stare after her, a little bewildered. Nevertheless, he did what she so kindly requested of him and he found himself standing on her porch less than twenty minutes later.

"What did you want to ask me?" He said as soon as she opened her front door.

It was just so unlike Cindy to reach out to him if it didn't involve school or some other academic subject. She generally kept her distance from him even though she was literally everywhere: across the street, their lockers only a few feet away from each other, in the same classes, they had the same mutual friends. She just didn't seem interested in small talk with him unless it was directly linked to one of our homework assignments or projects. He had just assumed it was because she was dating that Logan guy.

"Way to cut to the chase there, Neutron," Cindy said.

"Sorry."

He didn't sound very sorry, but Cindy let it slide. "I'll just come right out and say it. I need your help with something."

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" Jimmy's eyes were wide.

"No, nothing like that. But...you would say that you're pretty well-liked at school, right?" Cindy couldn't help but beat around the bush a little. The closer she got to asking him the harder it became.

Jimmy shrugged, brows knitting together as thought about that. "I guess so? Why do you ask?"

"I made a bet with Libby that I would win prom queen. But I don't think I'll be able to do that on my own," Cindy admitted quietly.

"And what exactly do you think I'll be able to do to help you?"

Cindy had been afraid of that question. She didn't exactly know the answer to that. She'd been hoping that Jimmy would know what to do.

"Well that's where you come in! You need to use your influence to get people to vote for me. Just think of it like you were trying to get people to vote for you instead and do that."

"But I wouldn't try to get people to vote for me," Jimmy replied. Cindy groaned.

"Sometimes I swear you argue just for the sake of arguing," she said and he gave her that damn smirk that drove her crazy. "Pretend that you made a bet with Sheen and Carl that you would win prom king. You'd be trying to get people to vote for you. What would you do to make that happen?"

He thought for a moment. "I would probably just be nice to them." Cindy stared at him blankly until he sighed. "Okay, I see your problem now. So you want me to invent something that would -"

"Oh no, Nerdtron. Please don't go run to your lab and invent a device for this. Knowing you, everyone in Retroville will end up hating me or something equally awful. Besides, I want to win fairly."

He nodded. "I can understand that." He was silent again for a moment and Cindy thought about waving her hand in front of his face to see if he was still awake. "Okay," he said simply.

"Okay what?" Cindy asked.

"I'll help you."

"Just like that? You'll help me? Without any term or conditions or deals to be made?"

"You asked me for help, I'll do my best to help you. You're my friend," Jimmy smiled at her and Cindy was taken aback. She hadn't expected this would be so easy. "We can figure out a deal to be made later."

She should've seen that coming.

"Good," Cindy said, nodding. "So what do you have in mind?"

"Give me until tomorrow morning to come with a few things. We can meet before school, at the double doors?"

She agreed with a shake of her head. "I'll bring the caffeine." Jimmy nodded and made to leave. "Jimmy?" The use of his first name, which was still an uncommon occurrence, threw him off a little. He turned and looked at her with surprise. "No science. Please."

He grinned at her.

"Fine. No science."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

 **Let's all say it together...I hate Logan.**

 **Jimmy and Cindy have grown apart over the years - except for their little rivalries of course.**

 **Don't worry, though. They'll be growing much closer from here on out!**

 **Please leave a review!**


	3. old dog, new tricks

**Hello! A few of you stated that you were confused by how I'd written the last chapter, and for that I am sorry. Writing in third person is new to me so even while editing I wasn't sure what I was doing. Everyone makes mistakes so I hope you can forgive any you see in my writing.**

 **If you're reading this author's note, please go to my profile for an update about me and my stories. Thank you.**

 **I'm honestly thinking about gutting this story and making it into first period POV instead. That would take some time, but I just want this story to be enjoyable to read. Let me know what you all think.**

 **The Crown**

Cindy was up at the crack of dawn the next day after a night of restless tossing and turning. She was in a cranky mood from the moment she woke up from the lack of sleep. All she could think about throughout the night was how badly she didn't want to go through with this prom queen thing. She was also worried about what Jimmy would be asking her in return for his help. He'd probably force her to clean his lab or tell him that he was smarter than her every day for a month.

She wasn't sure if she could handle that.

As promised, Cindy left early and bought two coffees to bring to school. She briefly considered buying three because she was so tired but decided against it. She didn't want to be bouncing off the walls.

She patiently waited on the steps in front of the double doors at their designated meeting spot. A few minutes turned into five and she was starting to feel overly caffeinated and angry. Seeing a flash of brown hair in her peripheral, Cindy whipped her head around to see Jimmy walking up the steps towards her.

"You're late, Nerdtron. I've been waiting forever," she complained.

"We never set a time. How long have you been waiting?" He took the coffee from her.

"At least ten minutes." So she was exaggerating a little. She had a feeling he wouldn't care he'd made her wait no matter what so she didn't feel bad for the fib. She watched him wince as he took a sip of his coffee. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, this coffee is just...very sweet," he said slowly, eyeing the iced concoction that she was holding.

"I wasn't sure how you liked it so I got it the same as mine except not iced."

"If you drink this much sugar everyday it will kill you," Jimmy said seriously and Cindy rolled her eyes.

"Can we get to the point now? What ideas did you come up with?"

"Well, I did a lot of thinking about this - if you want to win, you'll need to get ahead of everyone else in the running."

" _Duh_ ," Cindy said sarcastically. Jimmy was unphased by her interruption.

"We need to focus on what makes your competition so likable and have you become better than that. Think about Grace, for example. Why do you think people want to vote for her?" He posed the question as if he already knew the answer, which frustrated Cindy a little. She didn't need the run around, she needed an actual plan.

"Oh, I don't know - because she's attractive? Smart? Nice?" Cindy said distastefully. "I already know all of this. You need to tell me how I'm actually going to be better than her, though."

"I was getting to that. You need to find an advantage - something that you have that no one else does."

"Like what?"

"I've yet to figure that out," Jimmy said with a sly smile and Cindy glared at him. "You're right about Grace, though. Luckily you're already smart and attractive so you'll need to work on the nice part."

Cindy felt flustered by the attractive comment; he'd said it so casually and confidently that she hoped she wasn't blushing from it. She tried to brush off the funny feeling she had in her stomach and focused on the other part of his statement.

"I can be nice."

Jimmy raised a brow at her. "Can you?"

"Are you doubting me? I'll have you know that I am nice to lots of people."

"Name five."

"Libby, Brittany, my parents, Hum-"

"Humphrey is a dog and therefore doesn't count," Jimmy interrupted. "And you can't mention teachers because they are in an authority position."

"I'm nice to you!" Cindy said defensively.

She didn't like having her character exposed and critiqued like he was doing in this moment. Jimmy didn't reply to her for a moment and she had a split second of regret. She didn't consider herself to be mean to him...at least not very often. Sure, they competed heavily and she called him Nerdtron on a daily basis but those things were done in jest. Surely he knew that.

"I never said you weren't nice to me," Jimmy sidestepped her declaration smoothly.

"Okay fine," Cindy visibly deflated and chucked her empty coffee cup towards the trash can at the bottom of the stairs. It bounced off the edge and fell to the ground, ice cubes scattering everywhere. "Maybe you're right. This is never going to work."

"Hey," Jimmy said abruptly. She looked up at him. His blue eyes were serious. "You have me helping you. Of course this will work."

There was that charming, arrogant side of him again, but Cindy found she didn't mind it so much this time. She wasn't sure why he so genuinely wanted to help her but she was glad he was. Without him, Libby, or Brittany, she wouldn't have a fighting chance. She gave him a small smile and nodded.

"Tell me what I need to do."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

After their talk on the steps, Cindy walked into the school building, looking determined and headstrong. Jimmy sort of admired that about her; she was always up to a challenge.

He was surprised that she had taken his advice so easily. He was more worried about how well she would do with that advice. After a long night of thinking he decided he should keep it simple at first so she wouldn't get frustrated.

Jimmy wouldn't be surprised if Cindy ended up having a hard time gaining popularity with her peers. She was pretty, smart, and witty but she also had the tendency to use that wit to demean others, especially if she was in a bad mood. Jimmy was used to that type of behavior from her and it barely registered with him anymore. He'd learned over time that the more argued with, the more riled up she got - something he tended to avoid unless he was in the mood for her banter. He was pretty sure he could give as good as got, anyway.

He had laid down a few rules, including: no more sassy comebacks or unwanted sarcastic comments, no more name calling or making fun of anyone. He told her to report back by the end of the day to see how it went, and by the time last period ended and he was putting his books away, Cindy seemingly appeared out of thin air next to him. Her fists were balled up and her eyes were a little crazy - she looked like she was ready to explode at any moment.

"How did it go?"

"Not well, Nerdtron. Not well at all."

"What did I say about name calling?"

Cindy scrunched her eyes closed and took a deep breath. "I tried to do everything you said to do and it was fine until lunch. That dumb bitch Jennifer is taking over _my_ lunch table with her little group of friends. I couldn't just let her get away with it."

Jimmy wasn't sure who Jennifer was but it was only day one and things weren't looking good so far. "I hope you didn't call her a dumb bitch to her face."

Judging by how she had suddenly gotten quiet and wouldn't make eye contact, that was exactly what she had done. Jimmy sighed, loud enough for Cindy to know that she was in the wrong.

"I really did try," Cindy whined.

"Cindy, it's only been one day. You're going to need to exercise some self control," he replied sternly. She glared at him.

"I've had a bad day. Do you want me to take it out on you?"

Jimmy lifted his hands in defense. "I'm just saying that you don't need to act on your first impulse. Right now or in any other situation."

"I know that deep down, but in the moment I sort of go off."

That was the understatement of the century. Her outbursts when they were younger had been sort of legendary. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Maybe you just need to practice!" He exclaimed.

"How do I do that?"

"You can practice on me. I would be a great tester considering I've been on the receiving end of your anger for years. I know how to deflect."

He was treated to another glare with less heat this time. "So, you want me to just practice being nice to you and hopefully that will rub off to everyone else?"

"If you learn some ways to stay calm then it will. I have to tutor a few kids but I can come over tonight, if you want."

Cindy blinked at him owlishly as if she couldn't comprehend his suggestion. After a moment, she nodded. "Sure, but Libby and Brittany are coming over tonight."

"That's good. The more witnesses, the better."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy did her best to get some homework done before Jimmy arrived at her house, but the constant whirring sound of her printer from across the room was making it hard for her to focus. She glared at the piece of technology that was to blame and the people who were wielding it.

"Are all of those copies really necessary?" Cindy asked.

"Grace's posters seem to multiply overnight. I don't know how she does it. We need to have more than she does," Libby replied, not even turning away from the computer to answer.

"Maybe we should start tearing some of hers down. This is a waste of paper," Brittany said. She was stuck on sorting and organizing duty, and all of the papers were strewn out on the floor haphazardly in front of her.

"This is a mistake. Can we call off the bet?" Cindy asked, more to herself than to anyone else.

"What's wrong?" Libby sighed, turning around in her chair to look at the angry blonde. She knew Cindy had the tendency to be a little...dramatic at times. That was putting it lightly. She also know how to defuse the situation before it got out of hand.

"Everything is wrong, Libby! I fucked up my first day trying to be nice to people and now my room is being filled with posters plastered with my own face on them," Cindy eyed the papers strewn out on the floor with disgust in her eyes. "Not to mention, Nerdtron will be here any minute so I can practice being nice and it's going to suck."

"Jimmy is coming over here to help you?" Brittany asked curiously, shooting Libby a look. Neither girls were surprised that Jimmy agreed to help Cindy. The fact that he was coming over told them that both Jimmy and Cindy were taking this more seriously than anyone intended.

Cindy just shrugged and returned her attention to the textbook she had open in front of her. A light knock came from the other side of her bedroom door before Sasha Vortex opened it and popped her head in. "Cindy you have some more...guests," she said, her tone indicating that perhaps she was a little bewildered. She glanced at the mess on Cindy's floor and her eyes widened before stepping away to let Jimmy, Sheen, and Carl into her room.

Libby's face went a little red as Sheen immediately peered over shoulder to look at the flyer she was currently working on. Carl asked if Brittany wanted help with sorting and she gratefully accepted.

"Oh good, you brought the entire crew," Cindy said sarcastically. Jimmy shot her a look that said _be nice_ as sat down on her bed next to her, mindful of her books and notebooks lying everywhere.

"They agreed to be test subjects," Jimmy replied.

"That's surprising."

"Let's just say I had to promise to buy them dinner in exchange for dealing with you. They think you're intimidating, you know," he said, and picked up Cindy's forgotten homework that was sitting next to him.

Cindy knew that Jimmy was probably joking, but she couldn't help but feel a little stung at the word _intimidating_. Logan had used that exact word more than once, and he'd meant it as an insult. Usually she would've defended herself, but she decided to brush the statement off altogether instead.

"You got this one wrong," Jimmy pointed one of the questions on her homework. She quickly snatched the paper out of his hands and shoved it in her book.

"I wasn't done with that. Can we just get to the practicing now?"

"Sure thing," he said easily. "I was thinking that I could give you a scenario and you just reply as you normally would and I'll critique, give you pointers, and then we can start over."

"Whatever. Let's just get this over with."

Once again, Jimmy seemed unbothered by Cindy's surly attitude. "Okay, let's start with an easy one: You and I both take the same calculus test. I get a 100 but you get a 99. I ask you what grade you got. What do you do?"

Cindy knew immediately that this was a mistake. "Well for one thing, you and I both know that would never happen."

"It's happened before. Tell me how you would react towards me."

"It depends on if you're rubbing it in my face or not."

" _Cindy_. The details don't matter," Jimmy said, starting to get a little frustrated. He could hear a few snickers from across the room but couldn't tell who it was. Cindy crossed her arms stubbornly.

"They matter to me."

"Fine. Scrap that scenario. I see that we might need to go even easier than that." That statement was met with a glare. "It's early on a Monday and I tell you good morning in the hallway. What do you do?"

At this point, the other four members of the gang had abandoned their projects and were watching Jimmy and Cindy intently, half-entertained and fully expecting a fight.

"Uh, I say good morning back?"

"I think that was a trick question," Sheen chimed in. Libby shushed him.

"Sheen's right," Jimmy said. "Usually if I tell you good morning you say something like, 'what's so good about it, Nerdtron?' and walk away."

A sheepish expression formed on Cindy's face and she wasn't exactly sure how to respond. She knew he was right.

"In Cindy's defense, it depends on what kind of mood she's in," Libby said.

"I know that, but the general population doesn't. So next time me or anyone else says good morning to you, what do you say?"

Cindy felt a little like a dog that was being taught how to sit, except without any treats involved. She was pretty sure this little exercise was overkill, but she kept Grace's smug face inside her mind as inspiration. Beating her would feel so good. "I would say good morning back to them."

Jimmy grinned at her.

"You're a quick learner."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The evening passed by quickly, and Cindy demanded that she stop practicing so she could finish studying - which was just an excuse but no one said a thing. The rest of the gang continued on as they had before; Brittany was sorting as Carl caught the papers from the printer to hand them to her. Libby continued to fiddle with a design she had up on the computer and Sheen talked incessantly in her ear about what happened at his soccer practice earlier in the day.

She didn't mind.

Jimmy spent his time peering over Cindy's shoulder as she did calculus equations, and every once in awhile she would nudge him away if she thought he was looking too closely. She idly wondered why the boys didn't leave since they had stopped practicing.

She found that she didn't mind it either, though.

"I'm hungry," Carl said suddenly and Sheen immediately voiced his agreement.. "Jimmy, you promised us a feast. Let's go get some food."

"I promised you a dinner, not enough food to feed an entire army, guys. Remember that."

Cindy felt a small amount of disappointment as they got up and prepared to leave, and she could see that same feeling written all over Libby's face. She internally sighed, knowing that she probably owed Libby for all the works she was doing. If she were a good friend, she would insist on tagging along so Libby could spend more time with Sheen. Despite that, she really didn't want to.

Before reaching the door, Jimmy turned to her with a raised brow and asked, "You guys coming?"

Libby jumped up from her chair. "Yes. I'm starving."

Cindy was having deja vu to the other day when they all went to the Candy Bar. She just hoped there wouldn't be another surprise appearance by Grace Walker.

"Good. Cindy can get some more practicing in."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy was at her locker the next day, feeling a little nervous. Maybe no one would talk to her all day and she wouldn't have to even think about being nice. Keeping her mouth shut would be totally doable as long as no one spoke to her and she could tune everything else out with no problem.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar figure sidling up to her. She had jinxed herself.

"Good morning," Carl said somewhat cautiously. Just behind him, she could see Jimmy and Sheen - close enough to listen but not near enough to be apart of the conversation. They were testing her, and she was not going to fail.

"Good morning, Carl," Cindy tried to keep her voice neutral, almost pleasant. She was secretly glad that he was the tester and not Sheen. It was harder to be nice to the Ultralord lover.

The bell rang and Carl took off, as if he were afraid she was going to snap at him. Jimmy gave her a thumbs up before walking off himself.

The rest of the day continued uneventfully but Cindy felt particularly nervous about lunchtime. It seemed that every day, that bitch Jennifer had a new friend to add to the table, and Cindy, Libby, and Brittany were slowly being pushed out of their usual seats.

Stopping mid stride with lunch tray in hand, she heard the protests of her friends behind her as they nearly collided into the blonde. "I have an idea. Let's sit somewhere else."

"Where?" Brittany asked, looking around.

"With the nerd gang," Cindy said confidently, and set off toward the table were Jimmy, Sheen, and Carl were seated.

"Cindy, no!" Libby called out, but it was too late. She had no other choice but to follow. She liked Sheen and wanted to spend more time with him, but she was afraid of doing something embarrassing in front of him. Plus, girl talk was always important to her and without their lunch time gab sessions, she would feel deprived. She sat down in the empty seat across from Sheen and avoided eye contact.

Cindy ignored the odd looks she was receiving from the guys as they all sat down. After a moment, Sheen continued with whatever he had been talking about, this time making sure to include Libby.

"Trying to avoid Jennifer?" Jimmy asked her, and she could hear the mirth in his voice.

"Something like that."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-


	4. leap of faith

**Majority rules - most people think I should leave this story in third person and so do I, so it will continue as planned. For those that reviewed, or added this story to their follows/favorites, I thank you. I appreciate all of you and all of the support I've been given in these past few weeks.**

 **I will say that I originally wanted this to be a quick story. Now that I'm writing it, it's more of a slow burn (because those are my favorite), drawn out story. Not as slow as** _ **Dangerous**_ **but longer than I had intended. But that's not a bad thing. It took me quite some time to write this chapter and I'm still not 100% happy about it. Looking forward to developing this story more, though.**

 **Hope you all enjoy!**

 **The Crown**

A few weeks passed, and Cindy found it easier and easier to bite her tongue and relax a little with the insults. She was even a little proud of herself. There had been some real struggles along the way; including the time someone bumped into her in the hallway, causing her to drop all of her books.

She still hadn't quite mastered the art of being kind towards anyone that she didn't consider worth her time, so that meant she spent a lot of her time staying silent; choosing to say nothing at all over something that might turn someone's favor against her.

"I don't know if this is working," Jimmy told her one afternoon. Cindy felt surprised at that. She had thought things were going well.

"Why not?!" She had asked incredulously.

"Don't get me wrong, you're doing great so far," he assured her. "But I've been asking around, and most people say they are going to vote for Grace. We need to step it up."

Well, that was just a little discouraging.

"What should I do?"

"Give me a little time to think about it."

That had been nearly a week ago, and Cindy was starting to think that maybe he'd forgotten or he changed his mind about helping her. They saw each other every day and now they sat together at lunch, too - but he hadn't brought up anything else pertaining to helping her since that short conversation.

She considered that a good thing, though. If he could forget about helping her so quickly then maybe Libby would forget about their bet, too. They could all pretend this silly prom queen thing never happened and move on with their lives.

Her hope was short-lived. While leaving the cafeteria, Jimmy grabbed her arm lightly and whispered, "I think I figured something out. I'll come over after school."

He was gone before she could even reply. So much for forgetting.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It was a little odd for Jimmy to see Cindy acting in a way that clearly felt unnatural to her. He was used to the blonde being loud and opinionated, and she was acting anything but.

However, he could tell it wasn't enough. He had spent the past few weeks paying close attention to the mundane conversations that his peers had around him; many of them were prom-centric. While most of it consisted of who was going with who and what dresses were acceptable to wear, some people weren't afraid to voice who they planned on voting for...and that was Grace.

Jimmy liked to watch Grace whenever he had a spare moment in class or during debate club. He told himself he was only doing it for Cindy's benefit; so he could figure out how she could win. He found himself focusing on Grace's mouth when she talked and how she played with her hair as she listened to others too often for that to be true, though.

He went to Cindy's house after school, dreading the conversation he was about to have. There was no doubt in his mind that there was a lot of pent-up frustration ready to leap out at him from her. She hadn't been able to voice any of her real thoughts throughout the day, after all.

"Tell me what I need to do," she said immediately as he entered her room. Sasha Vortex, who had been walking down the hallway past Cindy's bedroom, paused slightly and gave her only daughter a strange look. Cindy used her foot to shut the door.

"Your mom probably thinks we're dating."

"Don't even go there, Nerdtron. My mom is the nosiest person on this planet."

He'd been right about that pent-up frustration theory. He sighed and sat down at the chair she had in front of her desk. "I think you know what you need to do, Cindy. Like I said earlier, you're doing a good job. But no one who wasn't already going to vote for you before isn't going to change their mind just because you stopped calling them an idiot during English class."

"Those people really are idiots."

It was times like these that he felt slight regret for agreeing to help her. At times, she was impossible to talk to.

" _Cindy_."

"Okay, fine. I know what you're getting at," she said begrudgingly. "I have to be actively nice."

He nodded at her. He wondered - and not for the first time - why she was even so concerned about winning a bet against Libby in the first place. While he knew the two of them had a playful friendship, it just didn't seem to be like Libby to make a bet against her own best friend. He wanted to ask Cindy about it, and about the stakes of the bet, but he knew that now wasn't the time.

"You're right. Maybe we should make a plan for tomorrow."

"How hard can it be?" She snorted.

He raised a brow at her. "If it's so easy then why haven't you done it already?" She was silent and he knew that he had at her with that.

"Alright, Nerdtron. But if I have to publicly be nice to you on a daily basis I'm quitting this entire operation."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy was armed and ready with a repertoire of niceties for the next day, but she wasn't feeling too confident about the whole thing. Just moments after she walked into school, she was bombarded by her friends.

"I tried calling you like, five times last night," Brittany complained, not bothering with any real greeting. Cindy rolled her eyes. She was definitely exaggerating.

"What were you doing? I wanted to come over last night," Libby said immediately after.

"Calm down," Cindy replied to both of them, pushing past them to get to her locker. "Neutron came over last night because he said that what I've been doing wasn't working. I actually have to be _nice_."

She grabbed a few books from her locker and tried to ignore the look the two girls were giving each other. She was fully aware that her friends considered themselves to be matchmakers - and that meant they were always trying to push Cindy and Jimmy towards each other. The thought made her ever-so-slightly cringe on the inside.

"The world may stop spinning on its axis," Libby said sarcastically.

"Why did you want to come over?" Cindy asked, ignoring the comment.

"I was thinking that we need to visit that printing shop that makes the pins Grace was handing out the other day," Libby replied.

Cindy groaned. "Seriously? That's so unnecessary."

"Let's stop discussing what's necessary and focus on what will make you win."

Crossing her arms, the blonde narrowed her eyes. "You know if I win you lose the bet, right?" Libby looked a little sheepish at that. She had a hunch that Libby wouldn't care if she lost the bet. After all, she would just be handed the opportunity to overcome her shyness when it came to Sheen and ask him out. Cindy sort of wished she would do it now and get it over with.

"Well of course I want you to win, you're my best friend. I just don't know if you can beat _that_." Libby gestured to somewhere behind Cindy and she glanced in that direction. Grace was standing further down the hallway, talking to Jimmy as he stood at his open locker. The redhead was attracting a lot of looks from everyone with her short black skirt and bright smile.

"Is her outfit even in our dress code?" Cindy grumbled.

Brittany was scrolling through her phone, ignorant to the conversation going on right in front of her. She glanced up as the other two stared at each other in a semi-serious standoff. "Should we put Cindy's face on the pins or a slogan of some sort?"

Seeing Jimmy and Grace talking so easily made her feel a little angry. She knew that Jimmy probably liked Grace - because most boys did - but that didn't mean he should fraternize with her competition so openly.

She shut her locker with a solid slam and decided to join their little chat.

"Where are you going?" Libby cried out as Cindy started to walk away. She'd started chattering about pin plans but her words hadn't reached Cindy's ears fully.

"I'm going to go practice being nice!"

Jimmy had given her some pretty good examples during his _how to be nice_ lesson the night before but Cindy already knew that she had to add her own personal flair in order to make it believable. She couldn't just spout out a compliment to someone in a monotone voice - that wouldn't fool anyone. She had to use the correct tone and body language. She had a feeling Grace would be able to sniff out her fakeness a mile away - unless she was good enough to pull it off.

Adding a little more pep to her step and straightening her shoulders in hope that it would make her look taller, Cindy walked up to the pair and put on her best fake pageant smile. They both paused, looking at her curiously.

"Hey guys."

Grace looked a little confused, and suddenly she realized that she'd just interrupted their conversation with no real plan of what to say next. She was pretty sure that was going to be a point against her.

"Hey Cindy," Grace recovered quickly. "Jimmy and I were just talking about the debate we have to prepare this week."

Cindy tried not to roll her eyes at that. If she had to hear about debate club more than she already did, she was going to punch someone. Instead, she continued smiling and hoped that her face was friendly and open without revealing how annoyed she actually was.

"That sounds interesting," Cindy lied. "I wish I would've joined debate. I think it would be fun."

She was only half-lying about that. She would enjoy debate if Grace wasn't involved.

"There's an open spot, actually!" Grace's eyes lit up suddenly. "One of our teammates just moved away leaving us short-handed. She should join, right Jimmy?" Her eyes turned to Jimmy, who had been silent for the past minute or so.

Cindy looked at him, too, and was surprised to see that he was smiling at her. She took that as an indication that she was doing something right. He looked as if he were going to say something but was interrupted suddenly.

"Well, what do we have here?" A familiar voice spoke close to Cindy's ear around the same time an arm went around her shoulders casually. She knew immediately that it was her ex-boyfriend without directly looking. "Most of the prom court lineup all in one place."

"Hello Logan," Grace said, smiling. Cindy used the moment to step out from under Logan's arm. The movement brought her closer to Jimmy, their arms nearly touching.

Logan was saying something to Grace, but Cindy couldn't hear any words coming out of his mouth - the only thing she could focus on was the obnoxiously pink pin with Grace's face on it stuck to his shirt.

Anger was bubbling up inside her and luckily, the last bell rang, signaling it was time for class. Just in time to squash the urge she had to rip the pin from his shirt and throw it clear down the hallway. She didn't have any romantic feelings for Logan anymore. She just wasn't too keen on anyone sporting a Grace pin - and Logan's smug attitude wasn't helping anything.

Everyone started moving towards their first class and Cindy realized she was trying to glare a hole through Logan when Jimmy nudged her, an inquisitive look on his face. She pretended to be confused and he didn't say anything. She needed to talk to Libby and Brittany soon.

Maybe getting pins with _her_ face on them wasn't such a bad idea, after all.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Not that I don't love having the girls sit here at lunch every day, I'm still confused about why you're helping Cindy at all. She's pretty much evil," Sheen said to Jimmy as they were sitting down for lunch.

Jimmy just shrugged. "She asked me for help."

"That's it? She asked and you just said yes?" Sheen asked incredulously. Even Carl looked a little surprised at that.

"I don't see why it's a big deal," Jimmy replied.

"It's just that...Cindy isn't very nice to you," Carl said to him as if it were a secret. Sheen nodded vigorously in agreement.

"She's not that bad."

Jimmy worried a little about how loud Sheen was talking. He could see that the girls were in the lunch line and that meant they would be sitting down in just a few minutes. No one other than their group needed to know about what was going on.

"I'm just saying it's not fair, Jim. What are you getting out of all this?" Sheen was being oddly serious.

"Maybe I'm just getting the enjoyment of helping someone in need," Jimmy said sarcastically. Sheen snorted.

"But would she do the same for you?" Carl asked suddenly.

The truth was that he technically wasn't getting anything out of helping Cindy. He didn't find it necessary to gain something when he really did consider her a friend. He had people who he wasn't very close with ask him for favors all the time; help with their homework, tutoring for a test. He didn't really mind any of it and this was no different.

However, they both had a point. Although he considered Cindy to be one of his friends, he wasn't sure if she felt the same or would ever help him out if he asked. She wasn't the generous type unless she really liked someone and Jimmy wasn't sure if he fit under that category.

"What would I even ask for?" he asked hesitantly. Neither of his friends seemed to know the answer to that question either.

"I bet she won't win. She's too mean," Sheen said.

"She'll win," Jimmy said confidently. "You'll see."

"Care to make a wager on that?" Sheen asked mischievously. Jimmy was saved from answering by the arrival of the girls at their table.

Jimmy spent the rest of the school thinking about what he could possibly get in return for helping Cindy. He could have her clean his lab, but that felt a little cruel and he didn't necessarily need anyone touching everything in there anyway.

Once again, he was distracted by Grace while he was at his locker in between classes. She was leaning against a wall several feet down, talking to Logan. He found it a little strange that the two of them seemed to be getting along so well and so suddenly, but it wasn't really any of his business. Besides, all he could really focus on was how he could see her long, dark eyelashes fluttering even from so far away and that half-smile she always bore.

Jimmy had always tried to convince himself that he didn't have romantic feelings for Grace but the truth was getting impossible to ignore - he liked her. She was smart and funny, and they spent a lot of time together since they had the same extracurricular activities, so it was hard not to develop feelings. He just knew that she probably didn't feel the same. Not only that, but Grace was more...developed in the romantic field. She always seemed to have a boyfriend. Jimmy had never had a real girlfriend; even though he'd come close a few times, he never took the opportunity to get out of his comfort zone. Surely his lack of experience with girls was obvious - and a turn off - to a girl like Grace.

An interesting thought was forming in his head as he walked to his next class. Perhaps he did know something that Cindy could help him with.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"How was your first day in debate club?" Libby asked as she walked into Cindy's room, carrying a medium sized box in her arms. Brittany followed her in, carrying her own box.

Cindy eyed the boxes curiously. "It wasn't as awful as I imagined it to be. What is that?"

Libby dropped the box in Cindy's lap. Her bedroom had become a prom headquarters of sorts; the girls spent their time printing and designing posters, looking up potential dresses, and there were poster remnants strewn about on the floor like a scrapbooking party gone wrong. Cindy could only imagine what her parents would say if they knew she was potentially going to be prom queen. She had been purposely keeping it a secret for as long as she could so she could avoid the added pressure to win.

Cindy opened the box and hundreds of pins stared back at her. "Is this what you were doing while I was at debate? How did they make these so fast?"

The pins were surprisingly less tacky than she had expected them to look. They bore her name and face, but it lacked the obnoxious coloring and design that Grace's had. She was happy about that. They didn't look so bad with their simplicity.

"I think the store ordered extra blank pins when Grace made her orders just in case she needed more. But we snatched them up," Libby replied.

"I hope you don't expect me to hand these out all by myself," Cindy said uneasily.

"Actually, we have a better idea than that," Brittany said smugly. "You should call Jimmy over here."

"Why would I do that? I spend way too much with him the way it is."

"We're gonna need him to hand these out."

Cindy shoved the box to the side, glaring at the two girls standing in front of her. "No way. I would rather personally hand a pin out to every person in our school than ask Nerdtron to do it."

"Why not?" Brittany asked. "He's already agreed to help you."

"Doesn't matter. I'm drawing the line here."

"Cindy, you know what some people are going to do when you hand them a pin?" Libby picked one up out of the box for emphasis. Cindy just shrugged. Libby tossed the pin carelessly in the trash can.

Brittany gasped. "Hey, we paid good money for those."

"I'm not actually throwing it away," Libby replied with a roll of her eyes. "I'm just saying, they won't care. It'll end up in the trash. But if Jimmy hands them out, people might listen to him and you know... _wear_ them."

Such a statement might have hurt a weaker person's feelings, but Cindy had thick skin and Libby knew that. She could handle criticism and a little tough love better than most - she was just raised that way. The blonde just sighed and dug the pin out of the trash can.

A few moments passed in tense silence and Libby shrugged. "Fine, we can do it your way. Just remember this moment when you and Jimmy and are on a hot date at the Candy Bar the day after prom."

Cindy gripped the pin a little harder. Damn, she was being played. And she knew that Libby was right - not only would the task of handing out pins with her face on them feel embarrassing, it would feel more embarrassing if half of them ended up in the trash.

Obviously sensing her about to give in, Libby plucked Cindy's phone off the desk and replaced the pin she was gripping in her hand with it.

"Text him. And ask him what kind of pizza he likes. I'm starving."

-0-0-

 **Do you think Jimmy will take Sheen's bet? ;) What do you think Jimmy's idea is?**

 **Next chapter: Jimmy and Cindy form a revised plan, Logan stirs up a little drama.**


	5. fan club

**Hello all! This chapter is being brought to you by an excessive amount of caffeine. Thank you to all those that have reviewed! You're all so special to me.**

 **My computer (which needs a new battery) shut off with no warning while I was in the middle of writing - shout out to google drive for saving documents so frequently. I didn't lose anything!**

 **The Crown**

Jimmy had been deeply focused on finishing his application for a summer internship with NASA when his phone, which was lying on his desk next to him, dinged annoyingly.

He ignored it and kept typing. After two minutes it went off again, breaking his focus for the second time.

"You gonna get that?" Carl asked from across the room. Him and Sheen were also focused on their own endeavors; theirs being a little less scholarly than Jimmy's considering it was a video game instead.

Jimmy sighed and picked up his phone and saw he had a text from Cindy. He was mildly surprised since he'd just seen her earlier at debate club. It had been quite a sight watching her try to rub elbows with a group of people who all seemed to dislike her. It was the first time he had realized that she could actually be pretty charming when she wanted to be.

 _I'm ordering pizza. I hope you like pepperoni! See you in 20._

He was confused. He didn't remember making plans with her for tonight, but maybe he'd been so busy lately that it slipped his mind? That didn't seem right, though. He never forgot things.

Swiveling around in his desk chair, he decided it didn't matter. "You guys wanna come with me to Cindy's?"

Sheen paused the game and looked at him warily. "Is Libby going to be there?"

Jimmy shrugged. "Most likely."

"Count me in," Sheen replied, tossing the controller onto the floor carelessly.

Carl just nodded, not really caring where he went or what they did. "There will be pizza involved," Jimmy promised. He still felt bad that he'd forced Carl into the front lines a few weeks ago when Cindy had just begun practicing being nice.

He could practically feel the excitement rise in the room at the mention of food. He sent Cindy a quick reply.

 _Hope you ordered enough to feed Sheen and Carl, too. Be there soon._

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy groaned when she read the text she just received from Jimmy. "He's coming. And he's bringing the rest of the nerd squad."

She could tell Libby was trying to act nonchalant but the growing smile on her face was hard to hide. At least someone was happy about this situation. Cindy went back to glaring at the pins that she swore were mocking her. Maybe soon she'd wake up and this would all be some type of off-the-wall fever dream.

The three girls perused potential prom dresses featured in a stack of old magazines Cindy had lying around while they waited for the boys and the pizza to show up. A soft knock was heard at the door and Cindy yelled for whoever it was to come in.

Sasha Vortex opened the door with three pizzas in one arm, looking confused. Libby quickly took the pizzas from her and set them on what little empty space was left on the desk. With some quick thinking, Cindy kicked the boxes of pins under her desk in a desperate attempt for her mother to remain clueless about the whole prom queen scheme.

"You girls must be hungry," she said, and Cindy suppressed an eye roll.

"Jimmy and his friends are coming over too," she replied.

Her mother raised a brow and glanced at the other two girls, who seemed busy digging into the pizza. "You're spending an awful lot of time with that neighbor of ours," she said quietly to her daughter.

This time, Cindy didn't bother with holding back the eye roll. "He's my friend."

"I thought you two didn't get along."

Cindy shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. "We get along fine, mom."

"You never told me what happened between you and Logan. He was such a nice boy."

Unfortunately for Cindy, her parents had loved Logan. When they had broken up, Cindy informed her parents that her relationship had ended over dinner that same day and had refused to answer any questions they had about it. They had surprised her by not pushing the subject...until now.

"Can we not talk about this right now?" Cindy whispered.

"I could smell the pizza all the way from the front door," an obnoxiously loud voice came from the doorway. Cindy peered over her mother's shoulder and saw the boys pile into her room, and of course Sheen was making a beeline for the pizza. "Hey, don't eat it all!" He exclaimed as he caught sight of Libby and Brittany each holding a slice.

Cindy used the distraction to gently push her mother out of the room, knowing an inquisition would be happening later on. As she shut her door and turned around, she saw Jimmy giving her a strange look. "What is it, Nerdtron?" She asked, exasperated.

He quickly shook his head. "I was just going to ask if everything was okay."

Although she'd been doing her best when it came to being nice to others, Cindy knew she would never be able to fake genuineness and sincerity the way that Jimmy was able to provide so easily - except that his was real. Her anger and frustration levels had been slowly increasing throughout the day and she was armed and ready to go off on him, but she couldn't. He looked too... _concerned_. Suddenly the thought of yelling at him when he was quite obviously just being friendly towards her left a bad taste in her mouth. He didn't deserve that.

So instead of spouting off an insult that would make her mother proud, she just shrugged and managed a small smile.

"Everything's fine. But if you're hungry you might want to get some pizza before they eat it all."

-0-0-0-0-0-

With the pizza long gone and small talk starting to wane, Libby proudly brought out the pins and passed them around for everyone to see. Cindy felt surprisingly nervous as she watched Jimmy assess the pin for a moment.

"They look good. Not too flashy," he commented and she relaxed a little. "Hope you didn't spend a fortune though. I could've invented something to make these for half the price, I'm sure."

The rest of the group shared a collective eye roll and decided not to touch that statement.

"I'm glad you think so. We're going to need you to hand them out at school starting tomorrow," Cindy said quickly. She figured the faster she talked the less time he had to really process what she was saying.

Jimmy looked up at her in alarm. "Say again?

"Brittany and I will be handing them out, too. But we all thought that if you helped us, it might go over a little better."

"What do you mean 'go over a little better?' Won't it look better if Cindy hands them out herself?" Jimmy asked.

"Maybe he needs to see that little demonstration that you did for Cindy earlier," Brittany whispered to Libby, indicating Libby should throw another pin in the trash.

Cindy rolled her eyes. "They're saying that if I hand them out, no one will wear them. But if you hand them out then people will refrain from throwing them away."

"How did you come up with that conclusion?"

"Does everything need to be explained in scientific jargon with you?" Cindy muttered under her breath.

Sheen put his hand out towards Cindy. "Let's pretend I'm a regular Retroville High student that will be voting for prom king and queen in just a few short months. This candidate just handed me their pin." He gestured for Cindy to put the pin in his hand and she did, giving him a strange look. He pretended to look at it thoughtfully for a few moments before throwing it behind his back. He been aiming for the trash can but had missed by several feet. "Sorry but I won't be voting for that candidate. She didn't even say a single word to me."

Brittany started giggling at how Sheen was acting. Cindy outstretched her hands in a half-hearted attempt to strangle him, but Jimmy stopped her.

"If Cindy would've said something to you, would you consider voting for her?" Carl asked Sheen.

"No," he answered immediately. "But if someone else were to change my mind, then maybe…" He gave a pointed look to Jimmy, who rolled his eyes and handed Sheen his pin.

"Vote for Cindy?"

Sheen made another ridiculous display of staring at the pin intently, before nodding and attaching it to the front of his shirt. "She's got my vote."

"See how well that worked?" Libby said to Jimmy, who just laughed.

Sometimes Cindy couldn't believe she willingly surrounded herself with these people. She watched as Jimmy took one of the boxes from Brittany. "Alright, you convinced me. I'll hand them out tomorrow."

"Maybe Jimmy should be campaigning for himself right now, ever think of that? He should have his own pins made!" Sheen declared.

"Absolutely not," Jimmy replied. "If I catch you making a pin with my face on it I'll be the one throwing it in the trash."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Jimmy knew he would be in for an interesting experience whenever he agreed to hand out the pins, but he had severely underestimated just _how_ interesting it would be.

He arrived to school a little early so he could get a headstart. He assumed handing out pins wouldn't be a short five minute affair. In his mind, he categorized groups of students into skeptics, neutrals, and believers. In others words, people who didn't like Cindy, people who didn't care, and those that did like her. And since he knew that skeptics far outweighed the other two categories - in fact, he was almost positive that the 'believers' category only consisted of about five people - he decided to start with the neutrals and made his way to the gym.

Cindy hardly ever interacted with any type of athlete - unless they were in karate, of course. He wasn't positive, but surely the tennis, baseball, and softball players would have nothing bad to say about Cindy, right?

It turned out to be more complicated than that. Jimmy was quickly realizing that Cindy had pissed off quite a few people over the past few years. While he had been right in thinking that most of the athletes were neutral, some of them had a lot of passionate things to say about her - and none of them were good. If this were any other situation, he would be impressed by the length of grudge-holding that some people were capable of.

He had just gotten done listening to a story from a softball player about how Cindy had tripped her in the hallway freshman year when another girl tapped on his shoulder. She was tall and held a tennis racket in her hand, like she had stopped mid-practice. He hoped she wasn't about to kick him out of the gym for loitering.

Instead, she eyed the box in his hands curiously. "What are you doing?"

Jimmy decided to take advantage of her apparent curiosity and pulled out a pin, holding it out of her to take. "I was just handing these out for Cindy Vortex. She's up for prom queen."

"Cindy?! I love her!" The girl, who was still nameless to Jimmy, took the pin and smiled. He was rather shocked by the enthusiastic reaction.

"You do?"

"She's the best. I don't care about prom so I didn't even realize she was on prom court," she was talking fast now, getting more excited by the moment. "Do you mind if I take some of these to hand out to the other players? I'd love to help out."

It took a few long moments to realize that she meant she wanted to take some of the pins. He nodded dumbly and she took a large handful, struggling for a moment before deciding to let them rest on her tennis racket. She walked away, yelling "thanks!" over her shoulder.

Jimmy decided to leave the gym after that. He needed to regain his composure.

He knew that while walking down the halls, he would run into quite a few skeptics. After his run-in with the mysterious tennis player he was feeling more confident about handling the more _difficult_ groups of people. Not to mention, he hadn't witnessed anyone throwing them away. Yet.

He ran into Grace after a few minutes, who greeted him warmly. He wasn't sure about the protocol of handing out a pin of one candidate to another but he figured that it couldn't hurt.

"May I ask why you're handing these out instead of Cindy doing it herself?" Grace asked as she took the pin.

He hadn't been expecting that question. "I'm just helping her out."

An odd look came over her face. "Are you two working together?"

"What do you mean?"

Grace shrugged, but gave him a knowing look. "Well you're on prom court too. If you hand these out for her then people might get the wrong idea. Or the right one...depending on what your angle is."

Jimmy was pretty sure that she was speaking some sort of different language. He laughed, as he was unsure how to reply. "I'm not sure what you're getting at."

"It just seems like you two may be running your campaigns together. And I have to say...it's a damn good idea," Grace smiled at him mischievously. "I'm a little jealous, to be honest. I wish I would've asked you before she did."

She shut her locker and left, leaving him to ponder exactly what the hell she meant by that. She was jealous? Did that mean she had wanted to run their campaigns together?

He internally shook his head and went back to handing out pins. This was all a little too ridiculous for him. He hadn't even thought about people making assumptions about him and Cindy working together, but it made sense that they would. And they technically _were_ working together - just not in the way that most people would think about.

The idea that had begun forming his head yesterday was beginning to bloom rapidly, almost out of control. If people were going to assume that him and Cindy were running their campaigns together, then they might as well use that to their advantage.

It seemed that maybe Grace thought about him more than he realized. Perhaps it would be a bit of a stretch to say that she was starting to think of him as more than a friend or acquaintance - but at least they were headed in the right direction. With what she had just said, it seemed like a possibility. That's all he needed, really.

He had to do a little more thinking - but he was pretty sure he had figured out a way to make everyone happy. He could get Cindy to win the prom queen title while getting something out of it himself. He just had to get her to agree to it.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Even though she had insisted on having nothing to do with passing out the pins, Cindy was still nervous about them as she went to school the next day. They were still _her_ pins and she was guaranteed to have an increased amount of attention on her - whether it was good or bad attention was what she was about to find out.

She intentionally arrived to school a little later than normal, opting to grab a coffee on her way in order to stall. She didn't want to be at home where her mother's questions where, either. The caffeine she was ingesting only served to make her nerves stronger but at least she felt a little more confident to tackle the day.

She wanted to talk to Libby and Brittany before class but didn't see them anywhere. The person she did see right as she walked into the building, however, made her want to turn around and leave.

Logan sauntered up to her and blocked her pathway, making her groan. "What do you want?" She asked rudely, forgetting that she was supposed to be nice to everyone. He was the exception to the rule anyway.

He pointed to his shirt, which had her pin attached to the front. "Just wanted to let you know I'm representing you," he replied with a smirk.

"Good to know."

"You should be thanking me."

"Oh? And why is that?" She said, crossing her arms.

"I know you're trying really hard," he said quietly, looking at her intently. Cindy froze. She suddenly had a bad feeling about this conversation. "But I can see right through your little niceness act. I'm sure everyone else can, too."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I can help you, you know. We can work together and win this thing side-by-side. If we happen to repair our relationship along the way I wouldn't mind," he winked at her and she gave him her best death glare.

"I would rather stick a fork in my eye than do anything with you ever again."

"Think about it, babe. We can turn your reputation around," he said confidently.

"Just leave me alone."

Logan just shrugged and walked around her. She didn't know why he was acting so oddly or why it mattered to him if she was "putting on an act" - which she was - but she didn't like having his attention so focused on her. She also didn't understand his hot and cold act - one minute he was being terribly mean and the next he was talking about getting back together with her. She didn't know what his ulterior motive was but he seemed hell bent on mentally and verbally torturing her.

She decided not to let it bother her for the moment; at least until she could relay the entire conversation to Libby and Brittany later so they could dissect the entire thing.

She ran into Jimmy on the way to her locker and her eyes were immediately drawn to the light blue circle that bore her name on his backpack. While of course she knew he was handing them out, she hadn't expected him to keep one for herself.

He followed where her eyes were and grinned at her slightly. "I'm leading by example," he said.

"I see that. How's it going?" She asked cautiously. She almost didn't want to know. She also noticed that he didn't have a box in his hands.

"Pretty good. I handed them all out already."

Cindy's eyes nearly bulged out of her head. "You did? School hasn't even _started_ yet."

"Turns out that you've made a few fans. I did slip the last few into some lockers, but that's only to make up for late arrivals and those who won't be at school today," he informed her.

She tried to focus on which sentence to be more concerned about: the fact that she'd apparently made some 'fans' or that he was breaking into people's lockers. She quickly decided on the latter.

"How do you know who won't be at school today? And how are you getting into lockers?" She asked him in a hushed tone. He leaned in a little closer to her, his eyes looking a little mischievous.

"Don't look so shocked, Vortex. Breaking into the school's computer systems to get basic information including locker combinations and the records of who has called in absent is child's play. I cracked that code years ago."

She just stared at him, feeling more than a little impressed. But she didn't want him to know that.

"Just don't get caught," was all she could say. He rested a warm hand on her arm, still grinning at her.

"Don't worry about it. I gotta go. I promised Mr. Devonte that I'd help other students with his biology lab today," he said. He started to walk away but stopped, looking pointedly at the coffee in her hand. "Seriously Cindy, all that sugar will kill you. You and Sheen are more alike than you think."

He left her standing there alone in the hallway, still feeling a mixture of annoyance and awe. It took her a few moments after he had left to realize that she had never thanked him for helping her.

-0-0-0-0-0-

 **Hope you all got a good laugh from Sheen in this chapter. I like to think he grows up to be a huge smartass so that's how I write him! By the way, NASA really is taking applications for summer interns at this moment in time - it's a minor detail but I did some research on it anyway! I try to make my stories as accurate as possible.**

 **You'll see more of the tennis player and the other "fans" Jimmy is talking about soon! Of course, you'll also see why they seem to like Cindy so much!**

 **Next chapter: Jimmy reveals a new idea/how Cindy can repay him.**


	6. dear abby

**Hey everyone! This chapter will be a little shorter than usual (by my standards, anyway) but I wanted to get something new out because it had been awhile for this story.**

 **Thank you so much to all of my kind reviewers! Enjoy!**

 **The Crown**

After her run-in with Logan and the short but confusing conversation she'd had with Jimmy that morning, Cindy spent the rest of the day feeling a little uneasy. Sometime before lunch, she tracked down Libby, needing to voice her thoughts before she lost her mind.

"Hey girl," Libby greeted her. "I just want you to know that Brittany and I were slacking a little with our pin-handing-out duties so we pawned the box off to Jimmy a little while ago. He's so much better at it than we are."

"Doesn't matter to me," Cindy replied with a shrug. "But did Neutron happen to mention anything about me having _fans_ to you?"

"No, but that sounds...intriguing."

"You're telling me," she said, blowing out a frustrated breath. "I think I'm losing my mind. Being nice is too hard. Not to mention, seeing my name and face everywhere on those pins is annoying."

"Hey, it's better to see them all the time rather than see them in the trash."

Cindy rolled her eyes. "Maybe that would be better."

"What's really bothering you?" Libby asked seriously. "I know you're not liking all of the things Jimmy is telling you to do, but I also know that can't be the only thing buggin' you right now."

Cindy sighed. Libby knew her too well and sometimes she hated that. "It's Logan."

"What happened?"

"He's everywhere. I thought that since we were broken up we could just pretend the other one didn't exist like a normal couple," Cindy exclaimed and Libby couldn't help but smile at her friend's theatrics.

"It's not that easy sometimes."

"Tell me about it. This morning he popped up out of nowhere saying things about turning my reputation around and getting back together. I think his exact words were: 'everyone can see right through that little act of yours.' It's beyond obnoxious."

So she was paraphrasing a little. That didn't matter. She tried to block out any and all interactions she had with Logan but this was different. He was getting under her skin.

"He said those things to you?" Libby asked, sounding concerned and angry. "He's an ass."

Cindy just shrugged. "Yeah, but don't worry about it. Let's all hope that he doesn't win prom king. That would just feed his ego."

Libby opened her mouth to say something else but the bell interrupted her, signaling it was time to go to class. Cindy bid her goodbye and walked off; still feeling unsettled but surely there wasn't really anything worry about. Logan was a pain in her ass but she knew how to deal with him.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Jimmy had foolishly believed he was done handing out pins when his box was empty, but Libby had dashed his dreams the moment she handed him her half-empty one.

"Please take this from me," she'd begged him. "Handing these out will be an all day task for Brittany and I."

He'd just agreed and took the box. There really was no use in arguing considering she'd walked away the moment he touched the box. He found out it was harder to pass them out while also attending class. He took advantage of the fact that he didn't have a debate club meeting after school and decided to stick around for awhile after the last bell to catch stragglers.

As he was wandering past the open door to one of the computer rooms, he realized that there were a few people sitting inside, probably working on homework or a project. He figured that they wouldn't mind a short interruption.

He decided to try the person closest to the door first - it was a boy he recognized from his class but didn't know his name. As he stopped next to said classmate and prepared to give him his winning spiel and pin combination, he was disrupted by the boy's bored-sounding voice.

"Whatever you're selling or fundraising for, I respectfully decline," he said without lifting his eyes from the computer screen in front of him. "I have enough tacky keychains and overly expensive candy bars to last me a lifetime."

Jimmy was slightly appalled by the not-so-nice way this boy was treating him. He looked around for a moment to see if anyone else had heard him, but they were all gazing intensely at their own screens, seemingly oblivious to the conversation happening a few feet away.

"I'm not selling anything."

"Oh? Please tell me you're not asking for straight up cash then. I don't care enough about dying sea urchins or whatever the trend is right now to go into debt."

He really regretted going into this room. He thought about just walking out without another word, but he'd promised Cindy that he would hand all these pins out. So he tossed one down next to the keyboard the boy was currently typing on. "Vote for Cindy," he said, intending to move on to the next person and hoping it would go better than the interaction he had just suffered through.

"Wait," the boy said as Jimmy moved to walk away, finally tearing his eyes from the computer. He glanced down at the pin before looking at Jimmy. "Cindy Vortex?"

"That's the one."

"This is hilarious," he replied, picking up the pin and staring at it. "My boyfriend will love it. Can I have another one to give to him?"

Jimmy had a bad feeling about this all of a sudden - especially since he'd used the word _hilarious_. The last thing he wanted was for people to start using the pins against Cindy to make fun of her. The boy must have caught on to his hesitation and laughed lightly.

"Don't worry, it's just for us to wear. We adore Cindy."

"You do?" Jimmy was having deja vu to earlier that morning with the tennis player in the gym.

The boy nodded, leaning back in his chair and looking at Jimmy thoughtfully. "She's inspiring, really. I don't know how many times I've tried to get her to write for the paper. She's got just the right amount of bitchiness that would transfer well into writing. But she has always turned me down."

There was a lot of information packed into those few sentences and Jimmy sifted through it quickly. He had obviously walked in on a meeting for the school paper. That would explain the serious vibe he got from the people in the room - he personally didn't read the paper very often but when he did, he could tell it was well-written. The content just happened to be about topics he couldn't care less about.

"That's not surprising," Jimmy said with a chuckle. "Cindy's not the journalistic type. She tends to be more interested in the scientific and mathematical realms."

"I didn't realize she had a boyfriend," The boy commented with a knowing smile on his face.

Jimmy stuttered over the question, not expecting it, before he remembered what Grace had said to him earlier about people getting the wrong idea...or the right one.

"Cindy and I are running for king and queen together," he said in a tone that he hoped was calm, effectively avoiding the original comment.

"That's _adorable_ ," the boy said with a grin. "I'm Carter, by the way." Jimmy opened his mouth to introduce himself, but was interrupted. "I know who you are, Jimmy. I know everyone."

"What column do you write?" Jimmy asked curiously.

"I flit between topics," Carter shrugged. "Since I'm editor-in-chief, I don't have much time for writing my own articles. Mostly editing and delegating."

"Any prom coverage?"

"I know what you're getting at, but the school paper is supposed to be an unbiased source of news. It would unfair for me to put anything about Cindy that would swing votes her way."

Jimmy nodded, a little disappointed. "Understandable."

Carter leaned forward a little and lowered his voice. "But between you and me, Cindy is the obvious choice...even if most of the general population might disagree. I know how to keep things unbiased in my professional life but school politics is riveting. If you leave that box of pins here I'll make sure they get into the right hands."

"Are you sure? What's in it for you?" Jimmy asked suspiciously.

"Like I said before, Cindy is a modern icon of true and sincere bitchiness that I can only hope to achieve someday," Carter answered dramatically, holding a hand to his chest if he was moved by the thought. "I also have a personal vendetta against Grace Walker. She called my paper 'pure garbage' last semester and I haven't forgotten the trauma she put me through."

That was a good enough answer for the boy genius, and he happily dropped the pins next to Carter's computer. "I'm trusting you that none of these will end up anywhere near a trash can," he said with an implied threat in his voice.

"Cindy's lucky to have such a caring man on her side," Carter said before shooing him away from the computer room altogether.

Jimmy felt oddly uneasy all of a sudden; he hoped that leaving the remaining pins was the right choice, and that Cindy wouldn't be angry about it. Not to mention, he'd just told the editor of the school paper that he and Cindy were running from prom king and queen together, which wasn't technically true.

Not yet, anyway. Perhaps this was the perfect opportunity to put his original idea into action. He needed to talk to Cindy as soon as possible.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Jimmy didn't bother asking Cindy if he could come over. His gut told him she would be home. Mrs. Vortex let him in and told him that Cindy was in her room before disappearing somewhere into the house, much to his relief. The matriarch of the Vortex family could be a little intimidating at times.

He made sure to knock on the door before opening it, hearing a muffled "come in!" as he twisted the knob. He was slightly surprised to see that she was alone but was secretly glad. The upcoming conversation would be easier to have without an audience, no matter how supportive Libby and Brittany were.

"Neutron? What's up?"

Cindy was lying on her bed on her stomach, books and papers strewn out in front of her. She didn't move much as he entered her room, apparently not too bothered by his presence.

"Did you ever have a short tennis career that somehow I didn't hear about?" He asked her. He was curious to know about the connection between Cindy and the tennis player he'd chatted with this morning.

She gave him an odd look. "No. What are you talking about?"

"Remember when I mentioned you having some fans earlier today?"

At this, Cindy sat up fully and narrowed her eyes. "I remember, and you're speaking total gibberish right now. Did you hit that massive head of yours on a low-lying beam or something?"

"I see your kindness levels have been maxed out for the day," he retorted playfully.

She grinned at him and clasped her hands together in a fake display of innocence. "Please oh _please_ tell me what's going on before I throw you out of my house," she said, her voice sweet but dripping with sarcasm.

He couldn't help but laugh at the dramatic show she was putting on and decided to put her out of her misery. "I'm assuming you know Carter, the guy who runs the school newspaper?"

Cindy huffed and threw down the pen she was still holding onto, along with the last hope she had for finishing her homework in peace. "He's so annoying. I can't go a week without him begging me to start an advice column for his paper. I don't know how many times I've told him I'm not interested."

"Well, he seems to be fond of you. And so does some mysterious tennis player that snatched up a good amount of pins this morning. You might have started the beginnings of a cult movement."

"Don't be so dramatic, Nerdtron," Cindy dismissed him, and Jimmy snorted at the irony of that statement. "I assume you got all the pins taken care of?" Her flippant attitude turned into a more hesitant one, as if she didn't want to know what his answer would be.

"You assume right," he nodded and she visibly relaxed. He decided to tease her a little. "You weren't worried, were you?"

She shot him a glare. "Of course not."

He just chuckled again and to his surprise, her face went slightly pink as she blushed. He wasn't sure whether it was out of shame or embarrassment, but it was a rare sight. Cindy was usually so in control of all her emotions - excluding anger and frustration of course - that it was kind of nice to see her looking a little vulnerable.

Jimmy knew that he needed to bring up his idea before she kicked him out of her room and he lost his chance.

"Remember when I said you needed an advantage over your competition?" he asked. She just nodded. "I think I may have figured it out."

Cindy settled back down onto her stomach and looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

"You have me," Jimmy said simply. Cindy's curious look turned into one of confusion.

"Can you explain that a little further?"

"Only if you promise to listen and not argue with me," he started cautiously. She just shrugged, obviously not wanting to make a promise she couldn't keep. "You asked me for help because you thought I had an influence on other people. I didn't think too much about that until now, but you were right."

"I was?"

"Yes. So far I've only been training _you_ how to swing the votes in your favor but I haven't been using my own 'influence' as much I could."

Cindy rolled her eyes at him but he was excited that she hadn't completely shut him down yet. "Get to the point, Neutron."

"You and I should pretend like we are dating. It wouldn't be too hard to believe since we are seen together pretty often anyways. Not only that, but we can sort of do this prom thing together. Run a join campaign, so to speak."

"Are you kidding me?!" Cindy sat up quickly on the bed, swinging her legs over the side, looking slightly horrified. "No way are we doing that. I'm going to date _you_ , pretend or not. It would never work."

That comment stung a little, but he tried to remember that it was just Cindy's usual way of arguing; in other words, insulting the opponent.

"C'mon, Cindy. It's a good idea. Best case scenario is that people's opinions of you start to change based on the fact that you're dating me, who they already don't hate."

"Oh my god, your ego is nearly suffocating me right now. And what's the worst case scenario, genius?"

"That no one's opinions change and you and I are pretending for nothing?"

The conflicted expression she held now made him hopeful. She was probably weighing the pros and cons and if Cindy was as smart as he knew she was, she would come to the same conclusion that he had: the plan was foolproof.

"It does make sense, I guess," her words were nicer than her tone. "But you aren't worried about your reputation? Or having to pretend?"

"It would only be at school and at school events. By the time prom is over then we can 'break up' and no one will be the wiser. Don't worry about my reputation."

"What if I say no? What are we going to do instead?" Cindy asked stubbornly.

Jimmy shrugged and sat down on the bed next to her, close enough for their legs to be pressed against each other. "I'm not giving you a choice. I need to get something out of this deal, too."

She looked at him warily. "I was wondering when you would finally ask for something. Pretending to date me is what you want in return for helping me?"

"Not exactly. I'm hoping that by having a girlfriend, fake or not, will help me out...with girls in general."

Cindy was quite for a moment before her eyes lit up in recognition. She gave him a sly look that made him deeply uncomfortable. "Girls, huh? You need help with your love life?"

"I've never had a girlfriend. And I think that other girls can tell."

"Which girl?"

"What?" he asked, confused.

"You're trying to be coy but there's obviously a girl that you have in mind. Who is it?"

Jimmy shook his head. "You'll have to try harder to get _that_ out of me, Vortex. Nice try."

While it was a little embarrassing to admit that he had a crush on someone, he knew that he couldn't tell Cindy who his crush without being tormented. There was also no way she would agree to this idea if she knew it was Grace.

"I'll get it out of you sooner or later," she said with a shrug.

Ignoring the comment, Jimmy moved from his spot at her desk and sat down on the bed next to her. She sat up and looked at him warily. "What do you say Vortex? You wanna be my pretend girlfriend?"

She sighed and shook her head. "This is a bad idea, I know it is. But I guess I have no choice."

On the inside, Jimmy started cheering. It may not be the smartest idea to make Grace jealous, but it was one guaranteed way to get her attention nonetheless. Like most of his plans, he considered this one to be nearly foolproof. He'd been thinking about possible scenarios and outcomes for the past few days now.

What could go wrong?

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

 **What do you guys think? Do you like Carter? Cindy is mostly unconcerned about her "fans" right now but that will change when she interacts with them a little more!**

 **Next chapter: Cindy's thoughts/feelings about Jimmy's idea...and then they put it into action.**


	7. practice makes perfect

**Hey all! I've hit a small amount of writer's block concerning this story - I think it might be because I'm so excited to finish Dangerous soon and I've already started writing a new story. Yeah, I hate myself too. Thank you to all of my kind reviewers for both of my stories. :)**

 **Hope you all like this chapter!**

 **The Crown**

It took Cindy all but five minutes after Jimmy left her house before she started panicking about the crazy, outrageous, _deluded_ plan she just agreed to - so she called in reinforcements.

When Libby and Brittany were finally sitting down in front of her as she was pacing around her room like a lab rat that had just been given a stimulant, she could barely find a way to tell them what was happening.

"Can you stop doing that? You're making me dizzy," Brittany whined.

"You are not going to believe what Nerdtron just proposed that we do for this prom queen bullshit. You guys need to help me find a way out of this!"

"It can't be that bad," Libby said reassuringly.

"He said that we should pretend to date each other. Like going on dates, holding hands, telling everyone that he's my _boyfriend_ type of dating," Cindy explained, still in shock. The other two girls shared a look that she didn't quite understand.

"That's generally what dating entails," Libby said slowly.

"Why aren't you guys freaked out about this?! It's never going to work!"

Brittany held a hand up to stop the blonde from ranting. "Actually, I heard someone say today that they couldn't believe it took you two so long to start dating. I think most people already assume it's happening, so it's not that crazy."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Cindy exclaimed.

"I didn't want you to act the way you are right now," Brittany said with a shrug, pointing out the way she was nearly burning a hole in her carpet from the way she was walking back and forth.

Cindy sighed and sat down at her desk. "So you're on his side?"

"Oh c'mon, girl. It won't be _that_ bad," Libby said cheerfully. "It's not like you two will really be dating or anything."

The room was silent as the three pondered the idea.

"Although it may be a little weird to see at first," Brittany admitted quietly and Libby gave her a nudge to shut her up. "What? It's true!"

Cindy pointed at the girls triumphantly. "See! I told you it's weird!"

"So how is this going to work? Are you two going to make out in the hallway?" Brittany asked. Her and Libby burst into peals of laughter, not seeming to care that Cindy was in a state of distress.

That was one part of the plan that Cindy didn't know so much about - in general she knew what it was like to date someone, because she'd had a boyfriend before. Her relationship with Logan hadn't been similar to the other relationships she'd witnessed at school, though. She wasn't usually fond of PDA or being all over someone. Logan had always accused her of being too stuck up for affectionate gestures or that she thought she was too good for him, which wasn't true at all. She was just...uncomfortable.

In hindsight, she could see it was because she felt uncomfortable with _Logan_ and not just dating as a whole. He just hadn't been enough to bring her out of her shell, so to speak. She wasn't shy by any means but it was hard for her to grow to like people. Falling in love seemed like a made up concept in her mind.

Jimmy hadn't given her any sort of clue what to expect from here on out. She'd been too swept up in the idea of fake-dating to even ask him. Did they have hold hands or kiss one another? How uncomfortable would that be when she felt like they barely knew each other past their only common ground of academic rivalry?

Cindy groaned. "I think I need to have another talk with Neutron."

"That's a good idea," Libby replied as she calmed down from giggling. "I say you shouldn't stress so much about. It's a good idea."

The girls left and Cindy sent an SOS text to Jimmy, knowing he'd respond right away. Sure enough, he was calling her in the next instant.

"What's wrong?"

"Your stupid plan is what's wrong!"

He was silent for a moment. "Vortex, you sent me an acronym that means something is an emergency, and this clearly isn't one."

"Oh wow. Now I'm starting to understand why you came up with this idea. I hope you don't lecture the girl that you like because that's a real turn-off and -"

"Why are you calling me again?" He asked, his voice tinged with frustration.

She bit back the urge to laugh. It was rare these days that she could get Jimmy Neutron acting in such a way; he was so mild-mannered lately that it was starting to make her look bad.

"You called me, actually. And we need to talk about this more if I'm actually going to agree to it."

"Having second thoughts?"

"Try third or fourth thoughts. This isn't going to work. I don't consider 'acting' to be on the long list of skills I've acquired for the years."

"It doesn't need to be as hard as you're making it out to be. You've dated someone before. It'll sort of be like that."

She was quiet, not really knowing how to respond. He was technically right. She shouldn't even be freaking out.

"Is everything okay?" He asked when she didn't say anything for awhile.

"Yeah, yeah. Fine. Are you actually telling me to…"

"Go with the flow? Yeah, I sort of am."

"The world is ending," she deadpanned. He laughed at that.

"I might actually agree with you on that. Are you okay now?"

She wasn't so sure, but there didn't seem to be anything else that anyone could do to change things. She was knee-deep in a mess that was becoming more fucked up by the day.

"Sure. I'll uh...see you tomorrow."

"That wasn't a very believable answer, but I'll take it anyway. Don't worry so much," he said, sounding like he was parroting Libby. "I'll see you tomorrow."

She hung up, and did exactly what everyone told her not to do all night long: worry. Cindy had a lot of thoughts running through her head and every single one of them disagreed with what Jimmy was so keen on doing. On one hand, it would be good for her image. The rise in popularity, the positive attention she was starting to get - those were all things she didn't realize she wanted before. But she liked it. She wanted to feel accepted and liked now that she'd had a taste of it.

Maybe in the end, this whole thing would wind up as a unique and rewarding character-building experience. She snorted to herself. _Yeah right_. But if she won she'd be able to rub her victory into people's faces; like Logan and Grace in particular.

Logan was wrong about her anyway. She was going to transform herself into the most likeable person in Retroville.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Jimmy had a hard time finding Cindy the next day at school, and he had a strange feeling that she was actually hiding from him.

It was something that he should have seen coming with the nervous phone call they had shared the night before. Maybe he could've been just a little more reassuring. He knew eventually that she would come around. It's not like she could hide forever - that wasn't really her style.

Thanks to Libby and Brittany and his conversation with Carter the day before, it was as if the entire school already knew that the two of them were 'dating.' This was way easier than he'd ever imagined it could be.

"Hater at twelve o'clock."

Speak of the devil. Carter had seemingly appeared out nowhere, or maybe Jimmy hadn't been paying enough attention to his surroundings. The boy leaned against the locker beside Jimmy's and pointed down the hallway. He glanced that way but didn't see anything particularly interesting. "What are you talking about?"

"That girlfriend of yours has been swatting at Logan Chestfield like he's a blood-hungry mosquito all day. I'm almost starting to feel sorry for her."

Jimmy was thoroughly confused when he heard the word 'girlfriend' but his brain quickly realigned after a moment - Carter was talking about Cindy, of course.

"Logan's an ass," he replied.

"Sure is. Aren't you going to intervene?" Carter asked almost suspiciously. "If my boyfriend's ex was practically stalking him I'd be having a conniption. But that's just me."

"Cindy's pretty good at handling things herself," Jimmy almost laughed but then stopped - intervening was something a boyfriend might do, and he had that title now. It would almost be weird if he didn't go over there and at least try to say something. "But you're right."

He made his way down the hall (distinctly aware that the other boy was following at a distance) and he now saw what Carter had been talking about. Logan was waving his hand around and talking animatedly while Cindy was busying herself with something at her locker. She looked calm but Jimmy knew better than to believe that she was anything but angry.

"-and you don't even seem to care that I still have feelings for you!" Logan was saying none too quietly. People in the vicinity were starting to stare.

"Is something wrong?" Jimmy spoke up as he got closer, his eyes more on Logan than Cindy. That's why he was so surprised when he felt two arms with soft skin snake around his waist and CIndy was suddenly smiling up at him happily from her position at his side. He instinctively wrapped an arm around her back, pulling her closer.

"Everything's fine," she said. "Logan was just leaving. Right?" She turned to look at said boy and sent him a withering glare, which he returned before stalking off.

"He's really off his rocker, isn't he?" Carter mused as he moved around the couple to stand in the spot Logan had just vacated. "Cindy, I don't know what you ever saw in him. He's an ogre. This boy you got here is much better."

Jimmy could feel his cheeks burning just slightly, and Cindy gave him a quick squeeze before letting her arms fall back to her sides slowly. "I sure do," she said easily.

"So, now that we're all here, maybe we should talk about...oh, I know!" Carter pretended to be surprised. "The school paper. I desperately need to fill some space for Friday's issue and I think you'd be perfect-"

Tuning Carter's ramblings out, Jimmy was starting to think that he'd been bamboozled. Cindy was a far better actress than she led on to be. She was doing much better than him at this pretend dating thing already and it had been _his_ idea in the first place.

Jimmy saw a flash of red hair in the corner of his eye and knew immediately that it was Grace. She gave him a coy smile as she walked past him and he couldn't help but watch her as she walked away. He suddenly felt a sharp pinch on his arm.

"Ow!" He exclaimed, looking down at the blonde who looked like she was ready to pinch again at any given moment. "What was that for?"

"If this is going to work," she said in a whisper so only he could hear, her face still calm although her words were anything but, "then you need to actually pretend you like me or at least refrain from checking out other girls. This was _your_ idea."

Funny that he had just been thinking that.

She gave him a pleasant smile before walking off, Carter trailing behind her like puppy. Jimmy sighed and walked in the opposite direction towards his next class.

He wasn't a superstitious person by any means but maybe, just maybe, he'd jinxed himself when he thought that this was going to be easy.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy could feel herself being worn down by a persistent Carter. He was getting on her last nerve, although she knew he meant well and seemed to genuinely want her help and no one else's.

"Okay, I'll do it," she whirled around and faced the boy that had been following her down the hallway, effectively disrupting what had to of been his fifth monologue of the day.

"You will?" He asked happily.

"Yes, but can we just do it together? I'll tell you what to type. I'm not going to sit at a computer all day and think of something to write," she said.

"Even better! I get to see the goddess herself at work. I gotta get to class," he swooped down and kissed her cheek before nearly skipping down the hallway with joy. She sighed - she had put up a good fight but it was finally over. Carter had been after her to write for his paper since she had made the mistake of taking Intro to Journalism her sophomore year. He had latched onto her then. No matter how badly she tried to shake him off; it was like nothing could shake him, not even the best insult she could conjure.

She could admire that in a person.

She spent the rest of the day feeling disgruntled. She had done her best that morning at being a pretend girlfriend but of course, Grace Walker had gotten in the way. Jimmy was just a teenage boy, after all, and she couldn't _technically_ blame him for staring. But she was going to anyway.

Cindy had to admit that the fake dating scheme somehow made it easier for her to be nice to everyone around her. She was aware that there more people were paying attention to her now. She just hadn't been prepared for the onslaught of drama that Logan had brought with him when he caught whiff of the rumor that she was dating someone else.

Her hope was that the longer she fake-dated Jimmy, the easier it would be for Logan to get the hint and leave her alone. He surely wouldn't bother her too badly if she was a taken woman. He could make a big show now but that couldn't go on forever - especially if she could convince Jimmy to do a little intimidation act towards him. That might just work.

It wasn't just Logan that she wanted to knock down a pegs. Grace was becoming increasingly annoying, with her short skirts and swaying hips and knowing smiles. The redhead could certainly use the hit to her ego by losing prom queen. That just meant Cindy had another reason to try to win.

She just had to stay focused, and knock some sense into Jimmy at the same time so he didn't screw it up for the both of them.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy had insisted that Jimmy come to her house after school and he had the same feeling in the past when one of his inventions had gone gone haywire and wreaked havoc - he was in trouble. Walking from his house to hers felt a little bit like being sent to the principal's office by the teacher.

She was sitting on her bed, the same as the day before, when he walked into her room. He didn't even have time to say hello before she started in on him.

"Neutron, you're an idiot," she said with a glare.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied breezily, making himself at home in her desk chair.

"What was that in the hallway? Grace walked by and you turned into a mush-for-brains zombie instead of a human," she snorted.

"I got distracted for a second, okay? It's not a big deal."

"Suuure. You sure talked a big game yesterday when you came up with this plan but it's going to flop with the way you're acting."

"I'm sorry, but it's just...hard to make the transition from Cindy my friend to Cindy my fake girlfriend," Jimmy said. "How are you doing it?"

She just shrugged. "I don't know. I'm sort of winging it."

He groaned, settling back into the seat, trying to think of a solution.

"You can pretend I'm someone else?" Cindy said innocently, a smirk toying with her lips. "I could probably find a cheap red wig somewhere."

"Real mature," replied dryly, not even looking at her.

"You just need to figure out a way to make it feel more real for you," she said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should go on a pretend-date."

"That's an idea," he murmured. "Not an immediate solution, though."

They were both quiet for a moment as they pondered ideas.

"You could kiss me," Cindy said abruptly. Jimmy sat up straight and gave her an incredulous look.

"Very funny."

"I'm serious! What's screams 'dating' more than kissing does?" She exclaimed, and Jimmy opened his mouth to make a point but she beat him to it. "Please don't say what I think you were going to say."

"I'm not kissing you," Jimmy said, growing more appalled by the second.

"I'm starting to take offense from your attitude, Nerdtron. You should feel honored that I'm giving you the option," she said in a not-so-humble way. He rolled his eyes. "Are you scared?"

"I'm not scared, Vortex. I just think it's a bad idea."

"You haven't come up with anything better," she said. "But it's fine, I'll just sit here and wait until you do."

She made a big show of inspecting her manicure, and Jimmy knew in that moment that she was right. And she was aware of it, too. Damn.

"Fine."

She looked up at him in surprise. "That was fast."

"Well, it's just a kiss. It won't hurt anyone," he said, but his words were just a disguise. It wasn't that he disgusted by the idea of kissing Cindy or anything - she was a pretty girl. He just hadn't wanted this fake-dating thing to go so far so quickly.

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

"You know, you're the one who came up with the idea. I'm starting to think you just want to kiss me," he said with a grin, and she somehow managed to blush while looking angry at the same time.

"Nice try with turning this around on me, but something still tells me that you're scared," she shot back at him. He looked away from her, uncomfortable. "Oh my god. Please tell me you've kissed someone before."

"Yes, I have, thank you very much," he replied heatedly. "I just...haven't had a lot of experience. You know this. That's a part of this whole fake-dating thing."

She sighed. "Fine. I won't make fun of you since you admitted you were scared."

"Damn it, Cindy, I didn't say I was scared-"

"Just get over here and kiss me so this conversation will end," she said.

Butterflies erupted in his stomach as he got up and crossed the room, sitting down next to her on the bed. It didn't go much further than that as they both just sat there, staring at each other expectantly.

Cindy blew out a frustrated breath. "Okay, this is going to be harder than I thought."

"More like awkward." She sent him a glare and he just shrugged.

"Would it help if you closed your eyes? I'll take it from there," she offered.

In the back of his mind, Jimmy wondered just why and how she was so willing to do this. He wasn't sure if this was the same Cindy that he had to talk into going along with this plan just yesterday. It was like she was a completely different person. Something must have happened overnight to change her opinion. He wanted to ask her but this was definitely the exact wrong moment to do it.

He didn't answer and just did as she said, closing his eyes and trying to remain slightly calm. He hadn't been lying earlier when he said he'd been kissed before, but it hadn't been anything spectacular or intense.

Even with this eyes closed he could sense how close he was to Cindy; could smell her subtle perfume and feel the heat of her body. Somehow that made him a little less nervous - this was just _Cindy Vortex_. Sure, she was scary, but in this context she was no Grace Walker, who he felt the need to impress.

A soft pair of lips touching his stopped his train of thought, and that was when he realized he was in _way_ over his head. The kiss remained chaste, just a gentle pressing of lips together for a few seconds before she pulled back, her eyelashes brushing against his cheek briefly. He opened his eyes and she was giving him a look with wide green eyes that he couldn't quite decipher.

"See. Not so bad, huh?" She said teasingly, but looking away.

"Uh, yeah," he replied dumbly. "Maybe...maybe we should do that again."

She looked at him in surprise. "Are you sure? We don't have to-"

"I'm sure. Just one more time."

He closed his eyes instead of waiting for her answer, and this time she pressed a warm hand to his cheek before leaning in again. This time he kissed her back with a little more force; her lips instinctively parting ever so slightly under his. Her tongue softly tapped his bottom lip and he was so surprised he pulled back abruptly.

"Shit, I'm sorry," she was saying quickly as he opened his eyes. "That was probably too far."

"No, it's okay," he found himself laughing. "I was just...not expecting that."

She blushed again. "Did that at least help you?"

He had somehow forgotten the entire reason they were doing this. "I think so. I guess we'll find out tomorrow."

She gave him a stern look and he was taken aback at the determination he saw in her eyes. "Don't let me down, Jimmy. We're going to win this."

He went home feeling just slightly inspired by Cindy's newfound dedication to the plan he had come up with. When he finally turned in for the night, it was hard to close eyes without thinking about being kissed by the blonde, like she'd been able to condition him in such a short amount of time. The scent of her perfume was lingering in his nose but that just had to be his imagination, right? It'd been hours since he was in her room and had showered since then. A feeling of uneasiness settled over him like a blanket.

Shit. He was in big trouble.

-0-0-0-0-0-

 **Thoughts…? ;)**

 **Next chapter: Cindy helps Carter write something for the paper, Cindy and Jimmy go on a 'pretend' date, and the tennis girl makes a reappearance! Please review!**


	8. the art of faking it

**I love you guys. You hear me? I LOVE YOU** _ **.**_

 **Thank you all for being so patient with me. I'll admit, I don't love this chapter. I worked on it for like four days straight...even while working nearly 55 hours a week, I wanted to get this out into the world. Apologies in advance if it's not my best work. I did my best with the awful writer's block, though.**

 **I saw the movie Blockers over the weekend and it actually kind of inspired me because it was about prom! It wasn't spectacular but it was pretty funny. Okay, enough rambling. ;) Enjoy!**

 **The Crown**

Cindy felt as if she were living in weird alternate dimension where kissing Jimmy Neutron was apparently going to be occurring regularly. She'd promised herself that she was going to do anything she could to make her fake relationship with him look convincing to everyone - but especially to Logan - and when she'd come up with the kissing idea, she had fully expected him to turn her down, and that would have been fine. It was a shot in the dark anyway. She hadn't expected him to not only agree to it but to ask to kiss her _again_.

Life was weird.

She had a feeling that it was only going to get weirder from here on out. Her only thought as she walked into the school building the next morning was that she hoped her kissing him had actually done some good. She'd barely slept the night before just thinking about it.

Cindy was deep in thought as she walked the hallways to her locker; not paying much attention to her surroundings. Libby had to call her name twice before she finally realized she was being spoken to.

"What's up?" the blonde asked her friend, who had a strange look on her face.

"How are you not freaking out right now?"

"Why would I be freaking out?"

Libby gave her an incredulous look before reaching her hand out into the busy hallway, snagging a seemingly random person's shirt-sleeve and tugging him towards the pair. Cindy just watched on in slight disbelief until she looked at the shirt the person was wearing. It had _Vote for Cindy_ printed on the front in big, bold letters. She gasped.

"What the fuck is that?!"

"I know, right?" Libby said. "You didn't even know it was happening?"

"Who the fuck made these?"

"Maybe you shouldn't be throwing out f-bombs in the hallway when it's barely eight am," Jimmy said teasingly as he came up to stand behind Cindy.

If he was confused by the scene of a pissed off Cindy and an amused Libby who was clutching the sleeve of a confused classmate that was wearing a t-shirt with Cindy's name on the front - he didn't show it.

"Maybe you should explain this to me," Cindy ground out between clenched teeth while pointing at the shirt.

"Can you let go of me now?" The boy asked Libby, who ignored him.

Jimmy took a closer look at the shirt and shrugged. "I have no idea what's going on...and I never thought I'd say that."

"If none of us had these made, then who did?" Libby mused.

"Where did you get that?" Cindy asked the boy.

"They're selling them in the library," the boy replied while using his thumb to point down the hallway.

"Who's _they_?"

"I don't know. But they were all sold out of Grace shirts so I got this one for half price."

Cindy let out a small screech of anger, causing the rest of the group to jump. Libby must have sensed that diffusing the situation would be best for everyone involved, and she finally let go of the boy's sleeve. He ran off without another word, clearly spooked by the tiny blonde that had a murderous look in her eye.

"This is going way too far," she said miserably.

"Don't worry, I'll go find out what's going on," Libby said before taking off in the direction of the library.

"I'm pretty sure it's against the rules to sell unapproved items on school property," Jimmy said.

"You're such a nerd. That's the last thing anyone is worried about," Cindy replied as turned back to her open locker, trying to distract herself from the growing amount of people she could see wearing varying shirts that had her name on it.

"I thought you were supposed to be nice to me?" He asked, leaning against the locker beside hers.

"Trust me - that _was_ nice." He rolled his eyes at that.

She felt a little awkward now it was just the two of them, even though there were dozens of other people around. If anything, that made it worse. They were supposed to be putting on a show, and now she was the one who was messing things up thanks to her temper.

"Feel better today? Do you have any urges to look at girls other than your girlfriend?" She asked, giving him a smirk. He just returned it, and to her surprise, leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips - right there in the school hallway where everyone could see.

"Does that answer your question?" He asked quietly, and she was too busy trying to wipe the shocked look she knew she was sporting off her face to realize that the kiss they'd shared had caused quite a disturbance among their peers that were standing around them in the hallway.

"I'm not really sure," she said honestly, still stunned.

"Can I come over after school?" He asked abruptly.

"Uh...sure…"

"Remember to be nice," he replied, tapping her on the nose once before walking off. She watched him walk away, only being able to see him for a few moments before he disappeared into a sea of people wearing shirts that said _Vote for Cindy_ and _Vote for Grace._

Cindy had been right - life had just gotten a little weirder.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Jimmy didn't know what was wrong with him. He'd been so worried the day before about blending the two versions of Cindy in his head - friend Cindy and fake girlfriend Cindy. Now, it was as if he had the opposite problem. He wasn't sure what had possessed him to kiss her in the hallway in front of everyone, but he was lucky he hasn't gotten his head bitten off for it. He wasn't sure that the kiss they'd shared the night before meant he could kiss her again without even warning her, but he hadn't been thinking. It had just _happened_.

That was strange - even for him.

Word traveled fast. By the time he walked from Cindy's locker to his, Sheen and Carl were standing there waiting on him.

"What is this I hear about you making out with Cindy in the hallway? What's going on?" Sheen exclaimed loudly.

He hadn't even thought about how his friends would react about the news of him 'dating' Cindy. And since they were at school, he couldn't exactly tell them the truth without others overhearing. He trusted them - to a point. Sheen especially couldn't keep a secret to save his life, and Carl would feel too guilty about hiding it from Sheen if Jimmy decided to leave him out.

So, he made a snap decision that he hoped he wouldn't regret. He just wasn't going to tell them the truth...at least, not yet.

"Can you calm down? I think everyone in a five mile radius just heard you," Jimmy replied, busying himself with opening his locker.

"In what world do you start dating someone and not tell us?"

"Not just someone, Sheen. Cindy Vortex," Carl said helpfully.

"We all knew it would happen sooner or later," Sheen hissed to him. "I would just like a little heads up beforehand! This changes things."

"What is that supposed to mean - sooner or later? And it doesn't change anything."

"Don't change the subject," Sheen said while pointing at him.

Libby and Brittany appeared then, both of them with arms full of t-shirts. Jimmy was grateful for the distraction.

"I didn't find out who's behind it all. The guy selling them didn't know anything about whose idea it was. But I figured they aren't doing any harm, so here," Libby said, tossing each one of the boys a shirt with Cindy's name on it.

"Did you know that Cindy and Jimmy are dating? Like making out at school dating?" Sheen asked the girls. Jimmy rolled his eyes.

"Cindy told us last night," Libby said casually. Sheen threw his arms up in the air and exclaimed _I can't believe this_ several times in a row before walking off, dragging Carl with him.

The bell rang, and Libby caught his eye as he shut his locker. She winked at him knowingly - she knew the truth and he was sure Brittany did too. That didn't really worry him. The two of them were pretty loyal. He was a little worried about his own friends. He just hoped they wouldn't stay angry at him for long.

He knew he wasn't going to get a chance to talk to them again until lunch time. Time inched by slowly until then, and when the bell finally rang he walked to the cafeteria faster than he'd ever had in the past. He was so distracted with thoughts of Cindy and kissing and his angry friends that he never saw Logan coming until he was standing right in front of him.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He asked, pointing at him menacingly. If there was one thing Logan was known for it was his dramatic displays of emotion. He wasn't entirely sure what Cindy had seen in him. He wasn't an idiot by any means and without his infamous temper he would probably be a good, normal guy. But he wasn't. Jimmy figured he probably needed anger management or maybe a few blows to his ego.

"I'm walking to the cafeteria?"

Logan laughed loudly, but it was forced and humorless. "You think you're so smart," he hissed.

"I actually am pretty smart. It's sort of what I'm known for."

Jimmy knew better than to provoke Logan, who was like a ticking bomb 24/7, but it was hard not to when he was getting so riled up. "That must be how you got Cindy to start dating you, then," Logan replied sarcastically. "She's stuck-up like that. She doesn't care about anything but school and having a career."

"That's a bad thing?"

"You know what I mean, asshole. If you think she cares about you now, just wait. She doesn't care about anybody but herself."

"I don't really think you need to talk about her that way," Jimmy said, starting to get a little angry himself.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Logan said with a grin before walking off.

Jimmy was confused by the hot and cold behavior. He was also a little concerned - it was apparent that he wanted Cindy back and he was going to do and say anything he thought might get back in his favor. It was clear he didn't know Cindy very well. She didn't put up with bullshit like what Logan had just done, and he was starting to see why their relationship didn't work out.

"Jimmy, are you okay?" A kind voice asked him, and turned to see Grace looking at him inquisitively.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. I was just - uh, talking to Logan."

"He's a character," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"You can say that again."

She smiled at him knowingly, her lips painted a bright, hypnotic color of pink that somehow went well with her bright red hair. "I heard through the grapevine about you and Cindy," she said. "Congratulations."

Jimmy blushed just a little. "Thank you."

He was a little confused about why she was congratulating him. His confusion grew exponentially as she put a light, soft hand on his arm briefly.

"Although, I stand by what I said the other day."

"What's that?" He asked, not able to look away from her face for even a second.

"I wish I would've gotten to you before she did."

Her hand slid off his arm slowly and she left without waiting for his reply, her body language confident and carefree as she walked towards the cafeteria. The same uneasy feeling from the night before was back.

Maybe he could go back in time and warn his past self not to help Cindy in the first place. This was getting stranger by the moment.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"This is like a dream come true," Carter said while rubbing his hands together, looking much like a stereotypical villain with an evil plan.

"You need to raise your standards," Cindy replied grumpily. She was seated next to him as he booted up one of the computers in the usual room that was set aside for the school paper.

She'd been slacking all day when it came to being nice to others, but between the still-unsolved shirt debacle and the weird fake relationship she was stuck in, she had no energy leftover for ass kissing.

Carter still wasn't phased by her bad attitude, though. He'd proudly showed her that he was wearing one of her shirts under his hoodie - to remain unbiased in the public eye, of course - the minute she'd walked into the computer lab and it made her foul mood even worse.

"I'm not sure why you're upset about the shirts," he said. "It's a good thing that people are buying them."

"I'd feel better about them if I knew who was behind it."

"Oh, honey. I could've told you that hours ago."

"What? You know who made them?" She asked in disbelief.

"Sure," he said casually. "It wasn't too hard to find out. Angelina Velasquez. Senior, 5'10'', brown hair and brown eyes. She's on the tennis team. Kind of quiet, not too many friends."

She was starting to think that maybe she'd underestimated Carter's sneakiness. She vaguely remembered Jimmy mentioning a tennis player the day before and wondered if the two were related. "Well? What are we waiting for? Let's go talk to her and find out why she did it."

He gave her a sideways glance. "Cindy, I know you're the type of person who needs to know everything just for the sake of knowing it but this week's paper is supposed to be out _tomorrow_. Can you please help me before we go sleuthing?"

"Fine, let's get this over with," she said, straightening her back in preparation.

He confessed to her that he'd wanted a column similar to Dear Abby for awhile now; but their version would be anonymous to everyone, even to most of the workers for the paper. Cindy could tell that he was obsessed with having things a certain way, and as a Type A personality herself, she understood how that felt. She couldn't help but feel like the only reason she got so annoyed with Carter was because he reminded her so much of herself that it was downright scary.

He only gave her a few directions: to not take the questions too seriously and to be herself while answering. That was easy enough. He asked her a few easy questions and typed away as she answered them.

"I have a fantastic idea," he said suddenly as he saved his work and starting formatting the article into the paper. "You, me, Jimmy, and my boyfriend Liam this Friday night on a double date."

Cindy wanted to decline, but she was supposed to be acting - acting nice, acting like she was in a happy, committed relationship. It was all harder than she wanted it to be. However, she didn't really mind Carter. He got on her nerves but she could count on one hand the people that _didn't_ annoy her. He was funny and clever and they got along okay despite his pushiness.

"Sure, that sounds fun," she said with more enthusiasm than she'd planned on.

He looked pleased.

"Alright, you promised me we could go sleuthing now," Cindy said as he shut down the computer, and Carter rolled his eyes at her excitement.

He led her out of the computer room and down the hall, all the way to the gym. She could hear the sounds of some sort of practice going on inside before they even opened the doors; of pristine shoes squeaking against the wooden floors and a ball bouncing made it sound similar to a basketball game.

"Are you sure we should be in here?" she whispered to Carter as they walked into the gym further. Tennis practice was going on, and they were clearly not going to be welcome there once someone noticed them.

"Just follow my lead," he whispered back, and he walked off at a quick and confident pace - right into the middle of the court where people were practicing. A ball whizzed by his head but he didn't seem fazed.

"Ladies, I am so sorry to interrupt you but this is urgent. I'm writing a small article about the newest pieces of apparel you may have seen throughout the school. Is there an Angelina here?"

Only silence followed his question with Cindy and tennis players alike seemingly confused. Finally, a tall girl standing near Carter holding a tennis racket raised her hand shyly.

"That's me," she said.

Carter clapped his hands together excitedly and looked at Cindy, who hadn't dared step into the court fully lest she get hit by a stray ball. "She's the one!"

Angelina looked a little frightened and definitely confused - and Cindy didn't even know this girl. She determined that Carter must have a few screws loose in his head. There was no way that this stranger would have gone to the trouble to making shirts for someone she had never met.

When no one reacted, he huffed and pulled Angelina off the court and to the side where Cindy was standing.

"Carter, what is going on?" She asked him, starting to lose her patience.

"How did you know it was me?" Angelina asked at the same time.

"I have my ways," Carter replied mysteriously.

"Wait - it was really you who made the shirts?"

Angelina had beautiful dark skin thanks to her Hispanic heritage, but she embarrassed easily. Her cheeks burned a dark red under Cindy's scrutinizing gaze.

"Well, yeah. I hope that's okay."

Cindy badly wished she could be angry about it. The pins were one thing, but shirts without her knowledge were another. Her first instinct was to yell, but she quickly thought better of it. She was supposed to be on her best behavior. Not only that, but Angelina looked so scared and hopeful at the same time that there was no way she deserved to be yelled at.

She smiled instead. "It's okay," she told her. "I'm just...confused."

"My dad owns the printing shop downtown so it was easy to get them made. I heard that Grace was going to be selling some so I wanted to do the same for you. It's not fair for her to have the upper hand."

Cindy was oddly touched, if not a little weirded out. It was a feeling that she definitely was not used to. "Thank you," she said honestly.

Carter was watching the entire exchange with great interest. "That's very nice of you, Angelina. What are you doing with the money?" Both girls looked at him in surprise.

"I wasn't planning on keeping it, if that's what you were thinking," Angelina spat out angrily.

"No need to be so touchy. It was just a question."

Never thinking she would have to be a mediator in all her life - that job was usually reserved for Libby or Brittany - Cindy held a hand up to stop them from arguing. "I don't care about the money. I'm just wondering why you even did it."

"You don't remember me?" Angelina asked. She was met with a blank look from the blonde. "I used to be in your karate class when we were twelve, Cindy. I was the girl who twisted her ankle right before the final test and you forced the teacher to change the date of mine so I could still pass."

Actually Cindy vaguely remembered that. She had badly wanted to be the best in the class and she couldn't do that if not everyone was able to take their final test, so she hadn't necessarily done what she did out of the kindness in her heart. It had been purely selfish. Apparently she'd made a different impression on the other girl and it seemed that it was working out in her favor.

Although the incident had been nearly six years ago, Cindy felt a little bit of guilt creep under her skin, an unusual feeling. She was lying to everyone about who she really was - and the real Cindy didn't happen to be nice or selfless. It wasn't the first time she was second guessing the the whole prom scheme, but it was the first time she was second guessing it for the morally right reasons.

"Cindy's a regular Mother Theresa," Carter said. "For the record, I love the shirt idea."

"Thanks," Angelina said, confused. "I better get back to practice now. We can talk about the money later, okay?"

She walked back onto the court, leaving Carter and Cindy to their own devices. Together they left the gym. "If I were you I might be a little freaked out by that," he said once they were in the hallway alone.

"Why do you say that?"

"Her behavior is borderline stalker-ish, Cindy. You didn't even know who she was."

He had a point, but she still felt guilty about everything. "You said yourself that she doesn't have many friends. Maybe this is her way of making them?"

"That's possible, but someone should send that girl to a social skills class if that's the case."

"Maybe you should invite her on our date Friday," she suggested suddenly. He gave her a look that said _really?_

"You want her to fifth wheel our date?" He asked incredulously.

"Find someone for her, I don't know. I need to thank her somehow."

Carter sighed dreamily. "Bitchy with a heart of gold. If I were straight, you'd be the girl for me. I'll call you to hash out the details!"

Cindy didn't really know why she felt the need to defend a girl she didn't remember, but maybe that was okay. She didn't really need a reason for it.

Besides, she sort of knew what it was like to not have very many friends - or to not be very well-liked by the general population, to be specific. The least she could do was be empathetic.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy was still in a foul mood as she went home. Her latest interactions with Carter and the shirt debacle had just made her head hurt, and she wasn't looking forward to an evening of dealing with her mother. It was getting harder to hide the fact that she was running for prom queen.

She froze as she stepped into her living room and saw no one other than Jimmy Neutron sitting on the couch. With her mother. _Shit._ She'd forgotten he asked to come over after school and school had ended over an hour ago.

He gave her an amused smile as she caught his eye. "Cindy," Sasha Vortex said. "It's about time you got home. James has been waiting for awhile. You didn't tell me the two of you were going to the prom together."

Cindy couldn't quite decipher the tone of her mother's voice - it could've been excitement, disgust, or a mixture of the two but it was always hard to tell what the Vortex matriarch was feeling.

"Yeah that must have slipped my mind," she laughed nervously. She quickly grabbed Jimmy's hand and started pulling him towards the stairs. "We are going to work on homework now. Bye!"

She could practically feel the mirth radiating off the boy behind her as he followed her into her bedroom. She shut the door firmly and locked it for good measure, wary of her nosy mother that would probably be bugging them again soon.

"I can't believe you told my mom we are going to the prom together! Are you crazy?! She's going to be bothering me about this for the next seven years, at least. What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that your mom should work for the FBI. She's pretty good at getting information out of people," he replied, making himself at home by sitting on her bed.

"Please tell me you didn't say anything about me being nominated for prom queen."

"No," he answered, and she sagged in relief, sitting down next to him. "You haven't told her?"

"I think you probably know why I haven't mentioned it."

"You're right. She's scary."

They were both quiet for a moment before Cindy spoke. "Why did you want to come over today?"

"Short and to the point, aren't you?" Jimmy teased, but he seemed nervous all of a sudden. She eyed him suspiciously.

"Just say whatever it is you have to say, Neutron."

"Well, I think we need to talk about last night. And the...uh, you know. Kissing."

 _Oh god,_ Cindy groaned internally. This was the end of the road. He was going to tell her that he couldn't fake-date her anymore. He was going to say that he was done helping her at all. Or worse - he was going to tell her she was an awful kisser and never wanted to kiss her again. She highly doubted he would be that candid, but her mind was wandering to awful places.

She didn't want to think about what it meant if her feelings would be hurt by him 'breaking up' with her. The thought just didn't sit well. It was also going to be humiliating. Everyone at school now knew they were 'dating' and if they broke-up now, she'd never win prom queen and she'd be the butt of everyone's jokes until graduation.

So she was freaking out just a little. She would blame her slight mental breakdown on the long, weird twenty-four hours she'd just experienced.

On the outside, she tried to seem calm. It wasn't like it would be the first time she'd held her tongue that day. "What about it?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped, as if he couldn't figure out what to say. Cindy was a little concerned. He always knew what to say.

"I'll just say it. I think we need to try again."

"What?! Why? Was your little display this morning - or last night - not enough?" Cindy exclaimed.

"Here's the thing: I can't stop thinking about - the girl I like," he finished quickly before he could say the name _Grace_. "That makes it difficult for me to pretend like this is real."

"Hey, I was kidding about the wig idea. I'm not pretending to be someone else." In the back of her mind, a voice said that's exactly what she was doing day in and day out lately.

"I'm not asking you to do that," Jimmy assured her. "You didn't have a problem with kissing me last night. _You_ were the one that suggested it."

"You and I are going on a date with Carter and his boyfriend this Friday," she said weakly, knowing that she was fighting a losing battle. "Don't you think that will help?"

He just turned his eyes toward the ceiling like he was tired of arguing. "Maybe this was a bad idea. Your ex-boyfriend is going to kick my ass and the whole school is going to find out that you and I were pretending."

The mention of Logan and Jimmy's assumption that this plan was going to fail made Cindy angrier than she'd felt in awhile. She wanted it to work out. She wanted Logan to leave her alone, and to rub Grace's face in her victory, and that's what she was going to do - Jimmy's doubts be damned. He needed her to kiss him to make things feel more real?

Fine. She'd kiss him then.

"You drive me crazy, Neutron," she muttered under her breath.

He wasn't paying much attention to her, and she used that to her advantage to take him by surprise. She smoothly seated herself on his lap so her knees were touching the bed, grabbed his face in both hands, and kissed him. It took a second or two until he responded, but when he did, his hands grabbed her waist firmly and instinctively pulled her closer as he returned the kiss.

This kiss was different than the ones they'd shared the night before, which had been gentle, exploratory, hesitant. This time she was making a point and he was...she didn't know what he was feeling. He seemed to be into it, and that's all that really mattered.

Kissing him wasn't entirely unpleasant, either. In all actuality, his lips were soft and his hands were warm against her. And she liked having the upper hand. Something about him not being experienced was sort exciting for her - Logan had been with plenty of girls before her, and she felt like she was just another faceless, mindless bimbo to him. Maybe she had been.

But Jimmy had a way of kissing her like she mattered. And just as she was enjoying the more dominant position, he flipped things around on her without much effort. His mouth opened against hers and when she didn't respond in kind right away, his hand touched her jaw firmly, as if he was silently telling her what to do.

She would be lying if she said she didn't like it - but she would never admit the truth aloud.

Their tongues touched, and she was starting to get a little _too_ into their kissing session when he pulled away - not completely but their lips certainly weren't touching anymore. Immediately, Cindy felt mortified. She didn't know what was she thinking getting on his lap like that. She had never done anything like that before, even with Logan.

She moved in an attempt to get off lap, but he stopped her. She looked down at him and he just smiled. "Thank you, Cindy."

She ripped her leg from his grasp anyway and sat down next to him again. "No problem, Neutron," she said lightly. He seemed to recovery pretty quickly. She, on the other hand, felt a little breathless from what had just happened. "I'm assuming it...helped."

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow," he said while standing up. "I'll try to dodge your mom on my way out but you might need to save me."

"Sorry, you're on your own."

She was a little dumbfounded as she watched him head towards her door. He stopped with his door on the handle and looked at her. "You know, I've never taken anyone to the prom before but I'm pretty sure you should be finding a dress soon. Less than two months, Vortex."

He left after that and she didn't hesitate to call Libby, who was luckily already with Brittany. "Hello future Mrs. Neutron," her friends giggled as she answered the phone. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think Jimmy just asked me to go to prom with him."

-0-0-0-0-0-

 **Okay! So no fake-date in this one like I'd planned but after the long wait, I figured you guys needed some action. ;) That will be in the next chapter now. Coming up will be an explanation for Jimmy's niceness/popularity and more background info on Logan/Cindy's relationship. Maybe you've noticed a little character development when it comes to Cindy already…**

 **ALSO, JIMMY WHAT ARE YOU DOING. (Just kidding, I know what he's doing. But you guys don't. And neither does he, sort of. Sorry.)**

 **Thank you for reading! Please review!**


	9. pandora's box

**I just want to say that I'm sorry for not finishing** _ **Dangerous**_ **yet. I will, soon! I promise!**

 **This chapter is also slightly cranked up with the humor and I hope everyone appreciates that. By the time Friday rolls around (also my birthday!) I'll have worked nearly 30 days in a row with not a lot of sleep, so I'm running on fumes and caffeine. Sometimes that influences my writing into being more...cracked out than usual. ;)**

 **Enjoy!**

 **The Crown**

"Wait - what? He actually asked you to the prom? Is this in a fake way or a real way?"

"I don't know, I'm just as confused as you are. He didn't actually ask but he told my _mother_ we were going together!" Cindy exclaimed.

"Well, that's about as good as getting it notarized. Good luck with that."

"Thanks. What the fuck do I do?"

"Go to prom with Jimmy Neutron!" Cindy heard Brittany yell in the background. There was a little shuffling on the other end of the line.

"I don't think he actually wants to go with me."

"Don't be silly! He wouldn't have brought it up if he wasn't serious!" Brittany said, her voice louder now. She must have wrestled the phone away from Libby.

"We are fake dating, remember? None of this is real."

While that was technically true, parts of it - like the kissing - _felt_ real. And it was starting to scare her just a little.

"Prom is pretty real."

"That's where my issue lies, Britt."

Libby's voice sounded in her ear in the next moment. "I don't see why you have an issue in the first place. It would look strange if you two didn't go to prom together since you're 'dating.' Besides, who did you have in mind to go with instead?"

"Well, no one but-"

"Then it's not a big deal. We'll all go as a group anyway, Cin. We're not letting you ditch us that easily."

"I suppose you're right."

"Of course I am! Feel better now?"

"Yeah, thanks guys."

"No problem. Next time maybe just go straight to Jimmy with your lover spats, though. These pep talks are getting exhausting."

"Don't forget our bet, Libby. I'm sure Sheen will be so excited for your date when I win."

Cindy suddenly had a brilliant idea - she did feel better about possibly going to prom with Jimmy, but she was still a little angry that her mother gotten involved. Maybe he deserved a taste of his own medicine.

It looked like she may be paying Mrs. Neutron a visit in the not-so-distant future.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Jimmy wasn't sure, but logic told him that telling Cindy exactly what was said by Logan during their unpleasant interaction wasn't a good idea. But he did make a note to press her for information regarding her volatile ex-boyfriend. Nothing about their relationship made sense, and he was really curious about why Cindy would date someone that was obviously so different from her.

Some people say that opposites attract, but he wasn't so convinced of that.

Luckily for him, Sheen and Carl got over the news of their best friend entering a sudden relationship pretty quickly. In fact, things were mostly back to normal less than twenty-four hours later.

"Maybe I overreacted," Sheen admitted while they were at lunch, the day after he blew up in the hallway.

"Just a little."

"Hey, you surprised me, that's all. I figured if you were going to start dating Cindy, we would know since hell would be frozen over."

He started snickering at his own joke and so did Carl.

"You don't make any sense," Jimmy replied. "Yesterday you said it would happen sooner or later. How are you surprised then?"

"Well, let's put it this way: I didn't think you'd come to your senses this quickly."

Sheen was being so... _philosophical_ that it was starting to concern him. The girls arrived at the lunch table then, and Jimmy had to fight the urge to blush every time he looked at Cindy. He had last night's events still replaying in his mind.

"Cindy," Sheen said seriously as the blonde sat down next to Jimmy. She raised an eyebrow at him expectantly. "I think I speak for both Carl and myself when I say that we respect and approve of you and our best friend dating."

Libby nearly choked on her school lunch, playing it off as a cough to stifle a laugh. He heard Brittany say _Awww_ down at the other end of the table.

Sheen picked up his fork and pointed it at Cindy, who looked bemused, narrowing his eyes. "But if you hurt him, you will regret it."

"I think that's supposed to be our line," Brittany whispered to Libby.

Jimmy was slightly embarrassed. He hadn't told Cindy that his friends were still in the dark about this particular part of their plan.

"Put the fork down! You're crazy," he said, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Thanks for the heads-up," Cindy said sarcastically. "But I don't think it's necessary."

"You also better not be taking up all of his free time, either."

"Sheen, you need to chill out," Jimmy insisted.

"It's okay, Neu-Jimmy. He's just being a good friend. I wish I could say the same for _mine_ ," she shot a glare to her two snickering friends, who quieted immediately. "Also, if you threaten me with a utensil again, I'll kick your ass."

Sheen smiles and nudged Carl. "Told you it would all be fine."

"You didn't tell me that," Carl said, confused.

"Well, I thought it."

"Can we just drop this subject now? Please?"

"Thank you for your approval, Mr. Estevez," Cindy said formally. Jimmy had a niggling feeling that the entire group was set out to annoy him today. She stuck her hand out and Sheen immediately shook it. "I appreciate you coming forward with your concerns."

"Pleasure doing business with you, scary blonde lady!"

Jimmy tried to imagine this situation happening with any other girl he would happen to date in the future (he specifically had Grace in mind, but that was neither here nor there) and couldn't. Cindy already knew all of the odd quirks within his friend group and thinking about this exact same moment happening with Grace instead of Cindy made him want to cringe.

Of course, that was all hypothetical. He was certainly getting ahead of himself, despite Grace's comment the day before.

Cindy sent him a playful wink in a rare, somewhat flirty move once after everyone returned to their lunches. He found himself smiling in return.

-0-0-0-0-0-

On Friday, Cindy insisted on going to Jimmy's house to pick him up for their double date. He seemed confused by that but didn't argue, and so she sneakily showed up to his house nearly twenty minutes earlier than their planned meeting time.

To her delight, Mrs. Neutron was the one that answered the door. This was way too easy.

"Cindy!" She exclaimed happily. "Come in, come in."

After a few minutes of pleasantries and no Jimmy in sight, Cindy pulled the innocent neighbor girl card. "Is Jimmy ready?"

A confused expression overtook Judy's face. "Ready for what, dear?"

"We have a date tonight. Did he not tell you?" Cindy asked. "Or maybe he forgot…"

"JIMMY!" Judy yelled impressively. "I doubt he forgot. But you know how he is - he's always working on something new and losing track of time. I didn't know the two of you were _dating_."

Unlike her own mother, Judy was outright delighted. Cindy knew that Jimmy had a much better relationship with his mom than she did. So telling her that they were dating wasn't a huge deal, but it was enough to probably annoy him - and so that was the only reason she needed to do it.

"I'm going to guess that he also didn't tell you that we're going to the prom together," she replied, adding a touch of sadness to her voice for good measure.

With her hands on her hips, Judy yelled up the stairs even louder. "JAMES ISAAC NEUTRON!"

Cindy stifled a giggle behind her hand as Jimmy finally came down the stairs, a panicked look on his face. "What the hell is going on?"

Judy swatted her son with a hand. "Don't curse in front of your girlfriend!"

Recognition overtook Jimmy's face, and he narrowed his eyes at Cindy behind his mother's back. She just gave him a cheerful smile.

"You didn't tell me you two were going out!" Judy said in a slightly scolding tone.

"Uh, it's new, mom. I hadn't had a chance yet," Jimmy replied sheepishly.

"Sure, sure. You kids better get going. We can talk about prom later, mister!"

The two were ushered out of the house quickly - it was apparent that Judy was the most excited person in the bunch for the date to happen. Immediately after the door shut behind them, Jimmy started glaring at Cindy.

"Are you happy with yourself? Now that's all she's going to be talking about for weeks!"

"Now you know how I feel, _mister_ ," she said, barely about to speak throughout her laughter.

"I should've let Sheen stab you with that fork," he muttered before taking off for his car, leaving Cindy behind in a fit of giggles.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"I'm so glad we could all get together like this," Carter said, clapping his hands together in excitement.

Jimmy was forced to think about the opposites attract theory once again as him and Cindy started their double date at a slightly-fancy Italian restaurant downtown. It was clear that Carter and Liam were polar opposites at first glance. Whereas Carter was outgoing and opinionated, Liam had barely said more than ten words since they'd sat down. He also seemed pretty passive and Carter was aggressive almost to a fault.

"Where's Angelina?" Cindy asked.

"Your new friend didn't want to come. Flat out refused. I'm sure it had nothing to do with you and everything to do with me," Carter said, and Cindy rolled her eyes. "I couldn't find her a straight single friend anyway."

The two of them had to explain who Angelina was to the clueless other half of their party and Jimmy smiled as he realized he already knew her.

After they ordered, he took a quick glance around and saw several people they knew from school, which was good. It wasn't like they needed any help getting the word out, though. The entire school pretty much knew that they were 'dating' by now.

To his surprise, he saw a familiar girl with red hair sitting in a corner booth. Grace, of course. She was sitting with Logan. They looked to be done with their meal and were now paying the bill. Jimmy quickly turned his attention back to his own table. What the hell were they doing together?

"Is your food bad?" Carter stage-whispered. "If it is, just tell me. I'll tell the waiter."

Jimmy shook his head quickly. "It's fine."

"Then what's wrong?"

His eyes wandered back to the booth Grace and Logan were seated at, and this time, the other three he was with all looked too. They both seemed to sense eyes on them and looked over, too. "Real subtle, guys."

He felt Cindy sink down in her seat a little. "Great. If he comes over here I'm getting underneath the table and you're all going to pretend I'm not here."

"That's not a good idea," Liam spoke up.

"Oh _now_ you want to talk?" Cindy argued. "Where were you five minutes ago when your boyfriend told me I had split ends?"

"You do have split ends," Carter and Liam replied at the same time and Cindy looked towards Jimmy for help. Their date was slowly turning into a small disaster and he didn't know how to stop it.

"It's the newest and cutest couple in town!" Grace said, towering over their table suddenly, smiling widely. Logan appeared next to her, looking disgruntled and glaring straight at Jimmy.

"Well if it isn't The Little Mermaid and her spunky companion!" Carter exclaimed. Jimmy was sort of relieved by the ridiculous comment. It took all the heat off of him.

"Play nice, Carter. It's almost graduation!" Grace admonished. "There isn't any reason for us all to not get along."

"Is this a thing now?" Carter asked, gesturing to both Grace and Logan standing together. They just glanced at each other and the former smiled impishly.

"Have a good night!" The redhead said before flouncing off with Logan in tow.

"That was weird," Cindy said after a few moments of stunned silence from the group. Jimmy couldn't practically see the gears moving inside Carter's head. He'd just picked up a piece of gossip and could hardly contain his excitement.

The waiter stopped by to take their plates and drop off the bill, and Cindy sighed in relief.

"Not so fast, honey. Our night together isn't over yet," Carter said mischievously.

"Really? What are we doing now?"

"We're going to the happiest place on earth. _Retroland_."

-0-0-0-0-0-

It'd been nearly five years since Jimmy had gone to Retroland. The theme park sort of lost its charm over the years, and many of the rides and games started to crumble with age and normal wear and tear. Recently, the park had been bought out and the new owners revamped the place - the rides stayed the same but upgraded, and the place was now more popular than ever. Jimmy always meant to make time to visit, but he hadn't yet.

Carter dragged Liam off to ride Bat Outta Heck, leaving Jimmy and Cindy alone to wander around and wait for them. Jimmy had forgotten how magical Retroland looked at night, with all the rides lit up beautifully against the black sky. He was secretly glad that Cindy seemed to not want to ride any roller coasters. He was content to just walk around.

"What are the chances that we run into Logan here?" Jimmy asked suddenly.

"I don't know, you're the genius. You tell me."

"I'd say they are pretty high considering previous experience."

Cindy didn't reply, just looked down at her shoes as they walked through the theme park.

"I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but what happened between you two? Why is he so angry?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," she sighed. "He's the one that broke up with me."

"Should've been the other way around," Jimmy muttered.

"I guess we just didn't mesh well. Things were great at first but he's not the type of person to care about grades, college, or anything academic and I am. We didn't get along most of the time."

"He seems to want you back, though."

"He told me the other day he still had feelings for me but I know he's just jealous. I wouldn't worry about it," Cindy said.

"It's not that I'm worried. I guess I was just wondering if I'm holding you back from getting back with him," Jimmy said slowly. "Because we can call this part of the plan off, if that's the case."

"Hell no!" She said heatedly, surprising him. "After the way he treated me? I would never get back with him."

"How he treated you?" Jimmy echoed.

"He said I was intimidating, and that I have a bad attitude that's going to get me nowhere. He always used to get angry if I spent my time studying or doing homework instead of spending it with him. Oh, and he was always flirting with other girls in front of me - I think he was trying to prove to me that he could have any girl he wanted over me. I think our most recent interactions after our break-up have included calling me a _real bitch_ and telling me he can see right through me niceness act."

"I'm surprised you put up with him for very long then," Jimmy said, surprised. He hadn't realized any of that had happened.

"Well," she started off hesitantly. "I'm not exactly the nicest person to be around, you know that. I may have called him a few choice names in our fights. I'm not exactly an innocent party here."

"I'm sorry, Cindy, but that's bullshit."

She furrowed her brow at him. It was starting to make sense to him now - Cindy's worries about winning prom queen and how she was viewed seemed to stem from how she was treated by Logan. It was true that maybe she _was_ intimidating to some people and could have a mean streak if provoked, but Jimmy knew there was more to her than that. He'd just figured everyone else could see it too.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not going to buy into anything Logan has said. He's sort of crazy. I don't think you should listen to him either," he said seriously.

Cindy just waved her hand like she was dismissing him. They had walked to a quieter, dimmer edge of the park. They could still hear the distant screams of delight and the sound of the coaster cars on the tracks. "I don't listen to anything he says."

She was lying, but he wasn't going to point that out. He would have to find another way to prove to her that Logan was wrong about her. In the meantime, he was entranced with how the lights from the park danced across her skin as she looked up at him, both of them coming to a stop along the path at the same time. All he could think about was they had done the night before.

Again, he tried picturing the same exact scenario happening with Grace instead of Cindy. That would never happen though - he knew Carter and Grace didn't get along, and who knows if she'd be willing to go to Retroland on a Friday night. It wasn't exactly the most exciting thing a teenager could on the weekend and especially not something he could picture Grace enjoying.

Cindy was still looking up at him questioningly, waiting for him to say something, but he could only do the first thing that came to mind - he kissed her again. He was going to have to be careful; the more often he did it the more comfortable it became. He kept it gentle and more chaste than the kiss from the night before, and when he pulled back she blushed.

"Good thinking. No one will doubt that we're dating now," she said quickly. Then she grabbed his arm and starting pulling him along the path. "We should get back before Carter files a missing persons report."

He just let her tug on his arm and didn't point out the fact that there had been no one around to see them kiss. He didn't want to admit that he'd just kissed her solely because he wanted to.

-0-0-0-0-0-

It was nearly midnight when Cindy finally got home. Her head was still spinning from the rides Carter had finally convinced her to go on and she'd definitely eaten too much cotton candy - but for a double date with a fake boyfriend and two other boys she hardly knew she had a lot of fun. She could also remember every second of Jimmy kissing her earlier but if she dwelled on that more than a few moments at a time, she would never stop thinking about it.

That was a problem in and of itself, and she didn't know how to fix it. She'd been the one to open Pandora's box and couldn't get it shut.

Her previous theory about Logan being deterred by her having a new boyfriend was not exactly correct. He seemed angrier than ever and more determined to ruin her life. She just wished she had never dated him in the first place. The only upside was that if Logan was really dating Grace, then he had no reason to bother her anymore...hopefully.

Cindy didn't know why Jimmy had a sudden curiosity about her past relationship but she felt a little bad that he was being targeted and it was her fault.

She went to the kitchen to get a drink and was surprised to see her mother in the kitchen doing the same thing. "You're getting in awfully late," she said to her daughter.

"Sorry. I hope I didn't wake you."

"I was already up. I had some things to catch up with around the house. You know, doing the dishes, laundry…"

Cindy sighed. This had to be her mother's way of asking her to do more around the house. She just wish she would ask without the dramatics. That line of thinking was thwarted when her mom pulled a familiar looking blue shirt from behind her back. It was wrinkle-free. And it said _Vote for Cindy_.

Shit.

"Are you running a campaign of sorts?" Sasha Vortex asked curiously, handing Cindy the shirt.

She tried to think quickly on her feet, but any excuse she came up with sounded like a lie and the longer she stayed silent, the harder it became to withstand the pressure of her mother's gaze.

"I'm running for prom queen," she finally admitted. Stunned silence followed for several seconds afterward before a small smile broke out on her mom's face.

"Well, I wish you would've mentioned that earlier! I swear, you're being so secretive lately. Just like you and that Neutron boy suddenly being a couple."

"Do we have to talk about this right now? It's pretty late."

"Fine. It can wait until Sunday evening."

"Sunday?"

"When you invite that boyfriend of yours over for dinner, then we can talk about it."

"Okay, I am _not_ -"

"Goodnight, Cynthia!" Her mother spun on her heel and went up the stairs, not listening to any protests. She groaned and briefly thought about running away from home.

Her life had just gotten a little more complicated.

-0-0-0-0-0-

 **This chapter feels so simple somehow! I hope you all liked it.**

 **Coming up - more drama involving Carter/Grace/Logan and more Cindy/Jimmy moments because OF COURSE. Please review!**


	10. probably wanna let me go, but you can't

**Sorry for the delay with this update. I will admit I spent most of my downtime at work today writing it ;)**

 **Enjoy!**

 **The Crown**

Cindy was nervous.

She usually didn't get nervous about most things, but the upcoming dinner with her parents and Jimmy was about to send her blood pressure through the roof. She was in her room, getting ready, doing her best to contain her nerves without much luck.

"You can help set the table," her mother said as she walked past her bedroom door.

As she was doing just that, their doorbell rang. Sasha Vortex ran to get it before Cindy could even move. She groaned.

"Don't let your mother get to you," her father said from his seat at the table. He was reading the paper.

"It's too late for that, dad. She's going to scare him off."

"She didn't scare off the last one, did she?"

"Nope, I did a pretty good job of that on my own," she muttered and walked into the living room. They were taking a suspiciously long time.

"Cindy!" Her mother said as she entered the room. "Look at these lovely flowers James gave me."

"Oh my god, mom. Call him Jimmy."

"I will do no such thing. Come with me!" Her heels clacked against the tile floor of the hallway and Cindy gave Jimmy a sideways look.

"Flowers?" She hissed. "Overkill, much?"

He just grinned at her. "She seemed to like them."

The flowers actually were pretty, and he needed the extra points. She didn't want to scare him but he had some big shoes to fill. Her mother had _loved_ Logan. He was perfect in her eyes. Jimmy was just the boy across the street that used to wreak havoc on the town and kick her daughter's ass - academically - every chance he got.

Hopefully her mother would be open-minded. Maybe she would realize, like Cindy had, that Jimmy was different than the mischievous, arrogant boy she grew up with. The fact that he wasn't anything like Logan was a good thing.

He followed her into the kitchen and there were handshakes doled out between Jimmy and her father and small talk was made as they all got seated around the table in the dining room.

"So, James," her mother started almost immediately. "I found out the other day that Cindy might be prom queen."

Jimmy sent her an amused look before answering. "I think she's got it in the bag."

"You're running for prom queen?" William asked with a quirk of his eyebrow. Cindy flushed at the amount of attention she was getting from her parents about this and Jimmy's questioning gaze.

"It's not a big deal."

"Back in my day," William started, and Cindy and her mother shared an eye roll. "I was in the top running for prom king but...your mother ruined it for me."

"What?!" Sasha exclaimed.

"You did! Your reputation dragged me down. No one wanted to vote for me once they found out I was dating you. Sorry honey."

"Did you have a soiled reputation, mom?" Cindy asked, trying not to laugh. She was glad some of the heat had been taken off of her.

"Absolutely not," she replied with a glare. "I was...more concerned about other things, like my grades and sports and working."

"More like she was too mean for anyone to nominate her," William muttered before shoveling food in his mouth.

Jimmy and Cindy shared a look - she couldn't tell what he was thinking, but she knew she certainly wanted to crawl in a hole and hide. Like mother, like daughter. She didn't want to be like her mom, but it seemed to be too late for that.

"I'm surprised you even care that I got nominated then."

Sasha smiled. "Of course I do! You're going to win."

No question about it, of course. As if she weren't feeling the pressure enough the way it was. Cindy bit her tongue to keep the sarcastic reply inside her mouth. She dropped her fork, suddenly too annoyed and angry to eat. This was why she didn't want her mother to know about _anything_ \- not the prom queen thing, and not about Jimmy. She was too controlling.

A warm hand settled on her leg gently under the table, taking her by surprise. Next thing she knew Jimmy was directing the conversation in the opposite direction, something about his parents that she didn't fully hear.

She couldn't help but stare at him in shock, and he gave her leg a light squeeze before letting go completely.

Even she had a hard time when it came to facing her mother's inquisition. She knew she let her words get under her skin when she shouldn't, but it was hard not to. Jimmy, though? He seemed unbothered. Perhaps he was just used to dealing with Vortex women or just...one in particular.

Cindy felt her nerves dissipate just a little. Maybe this dinner wouldn't be so bad after all.

-0-0-0-0-0-

When dinner was over and so was the stifling, polite conversation, Jimmy left. She discreetly texted him and thanked him soon after. She wasn't just thanking him for coming to the dinner, but for how well he'd pulled it off.

She shoved her phone in her pocket and continued cleaning up the kitchen as her mom entered the room.

"James is a nice boy," she said. "But I'm still wondering what happened between you and Logan. I thought you two hit it off so well."

"Sometimes relationships just don't work out, mom."

She tried to keep the anger out of her voice but it wasn't working. Sasha just gave her a soft, knowing smile. "That is true. But he was so good for you, dear."

Cindy finished loading the dishwasher and slammed the door shut, all of the dishes and silverware inside shaking loudly. It was probably best to stay silent, she told herself. Her mother didn't know all the details about her previous relationship.

Logan was actually the son of a close family friend of the Vortex's, and so Cindy met him under circumstances that were a little different. At first, she'd liked Logan so much because she thought he understood her. His parents were a lot like her own, and so they bonded over how they had grown up with the same the extreme pressure to be the best.

That was how she was able to look past the sometimes not so pleasant side of him. At the end of the day, they were able to relate to one another. She didn't have that kind of understanding even between Libby or Brittany, who had mothers that were kinder and more soft-spoken than her own.

Besides, she was a little bit of an asshole too. She couldn't always hold it against him.

That was until the last straw forced him to break up with her, and she unfortunately couldn't relay that situation to her mother. It was too personal, too embarrassing.

So she just had to endure comments from her mother. Maybe the longer she dated Jimmy, the less she would focus on Logan. Fat chance, but she could always hope.

"Can you just trust me? I know what - and _who_ \- is right for me."

Sasha just tsked her as she made to leave the kitchen. "Mothers know best, Cynthia."

She blew out a sigh and her phone buzzed at the same time. She pulled it out and read the message from Jimmy.

 _What are fake boyfriends for?_

And she couldn't help but smile.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy found that dating - Well, _fake_ dating - Jimmy Neutron had a magical effect on Cindy's life. Walking into school the next morning, Cindy could tell that the news of their "relationship" was common knowledge now.

Suddenly, she wasn't having to work so hard to get people to like her. If she talked to someone, they wouldn't look at her warily like she was going to snap their neck at any moment. If she smiled at someone, _they smiled back_.

She didn't care what anyone said. That shit was actual magic.

Cindy didn't realize that being well-liked by a lot of people would feel so nice. She could feel her mood rising by the moment.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

Libby's skeptical voice brought Cindy out of her reverie. The blonde jumped from her position at her locker. She hadn't even notice her friend walk up to her.

"I'm not allowed to smile?"

"Not like that, you creep. Especially not on a Monday morning."

Cindy rolled her eyes. So maybe she was getting ahead of herself by calling it magic. Good thing she had Libby to keep her grounded. The last thing she needed was to get caught thinking that her fake relationship was actually real, and that Jimmy was...someone she actually had feelings for.

"Don't call me a creep. You'll ruin my good mood."

"And you're in such a frighteningly good mood because…?"

A warm arm went around Cindy's back, and she tried not to smile again as Jimmy kissed her temple. "Morning. I don't have time to talk but I'll see you at lunch okay?" She just nodded and he waved to the both of them before walking off.

Cindy didn't like the look on Libby's face as she turned back to her. It was smug. It was self-righteous.

"Oh, that explains things."

She glared and pointed a finger. "Don't you dare even go there, Libby Folfax."

"Go where?" Her friend asked innocently.

She lowered her voice significantly. "I'm just happy things are finally going smoothly, alright?"

"Sure, sure. I'm happy your relationship is working, too."

"LIBBY! That's not what I meant!"

Cindy could hear her cackling as she walked away.

-0-0-0-0-0-

At the end of the school day, Cindy was cornered by Carter.

"I have had people _raving_ about the column, Cindy. You have to do another one for this week!" He pushed her into the empty computer room not so gently and sat down.

"Carter, no! I thought this was a one time only thing," she whined.

"It'll only take us a little while," he said, his eyes focused on the computer in front of him.

"I don't remember agreeing to this."

He sat back and looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "I take my job as the editor pretty seriously because I plan on making this my career later on in life."

"That's very admirable but I'm busy today."

"With Jimmy?"

"No, I have plenty of things I need to do that don't involve him."

"Hm, maybe they should involve him if you are trying to convince everyone that your relationship is real."

They stared at each other intently and he waited for her to catch on to what he was saying. "What are you talking about?" She said neutrally.

He sighed. "I overheard you two talking at Retroland the other night. Liam thought I was crazy, but something felt off, so we followed you. I have a little something called intuition, ever heard of it?"

She glared at him. "I don't know what you thought you heard, but-"

" _No one will doubt that we're dating now_ ," he said, obviously trying to mimic her voice. Her glare lost its heat as she sank down into the chair next to him. "It took me awhile to put the pieces together, but…you two aren't really dating, are you?"

Cindy's was silent. There wasn't any use in denying. It was all over now. Carter was a huge gossip.

"Don't give me that look," he said gently. "I'm on your side, remember? We're friends."

"Are we?" She asked shortly. "Because I never really know with you."

"That hurts," he said while putting a hand over his chest dramatically. "The person you really need to be worried about is Grace, not me. I promise."

"...you're not going to tell anyone?"

"Not a single soul, honey."

She narrowed her eyes. "What's the catch?"

"Why do you assume there is one?" He said innocently.

"Because I know you better than that."

"I would just appreciate if you helped me out with this," he pointed at the computer. She blew out a sigh.

"Fine, but not today. I have debate club."

He rolled his eyes. "Have fun with that."

"Carter, I swear if you tell _anyone_ about this I'll gut you like a fish and sell you to a family of cannibals."

"Okay, okay. Calm down! Can I ask you one question though?" She nodded. "Why are you doing this?"

"People like Jimmy, and me? Not so much," she said with a shrug. "It'll help me win prom queen."

"It's a genius plan."

"Well, a genius did come up with it."

Carter gave her a strange look. "It was his idea?"

"Yeah? So?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "For the record, you probably don't need his help. I believe you could do this on your own. But you two make a cute fake couple."

"Thanks...I guess. And I definitely need his help. Like I said, people don't really like me."

She still planned on keeping the other part of their plan - the fake-nice acting and ass-kissing - a secret. He didn't need to know everything.

"I like you just the way you are, blondie," he said honestly. "Maybe prom queen isn't worth pretending to be someone else."

She just shook her head and left the room. She was deeply disturbed that he'd been able to figure it out so quickly whether he had been eavesdropping or not. What if others could figure it out too?

And maybe he was right; prom queen might not be worth the trouble. But this whole plan meant that people were starting to warm up to her. She actually liked that. She'd never needed approval from her peers before - she was far too focused on gaining her parents approval - because she'd never _had_ it. And so she wasn't going to give up so easily.

Dating Jimmy wasn't that awful, either. The pros definitely outweighed the cons. She just needed to make sure she never told anyone that.

-0-0-0-0-0-

For what felt like the millionth time, Cindy forced Jimmy to come over to her house after debate club was over. Her parents weren't home yet, and she was relieved about that. She was about to explode with the knowledge of Carter figuring out the truth.

"We have a little problem," Cindy said, dropping her bag on her bedroom floor with a heavy _thud._

"What is it now?"

"It's Carter. He overheard us talking at Retroland the other night and he knows we're not really dating."

Jimmy sat down on her bed, his eyes wide. "That is a problem. I was expecting something more mild, like Sheen threatening you with another kitchen utensil."

"Like I wouldn't be able to handle that myself," she muttered sarcastically.

"So what now? The jig is up?"

Cindy wrinkled her nose. "Please don't say that ever again, you nerd. You sound like a character from _Scooby Doo._ " He shrugged. "I don't know what happens next. He promised not to tell."

"Do you trust him?"

"About as far as I can throw him."

"There's not much we can do now. He already knows," he said, and then a thoughtful expression crossed over his face. "Unless…"

"Neutron, no. Wiping his memory is how you get slapped with a lawsuit."

"It's never happened before."

She huffed and rolled her eyes. "You drive me crazy."

He just grinned and it infuriated her even more. "Carter seems to like you. Maybe you have nothing to worry about - although I know you will anyway, because that's how you are."

He was right, but she wasn't going to admit that. "He may have asked me to help him with the paper to ensure the secret is kept."

"You're going to have your hands full."

"Don't remind me. But this is a good warning for us to be more careful when we're out in public."

He scoffed. "I'm very careful. You're the one who said something about the plan."

"I thought we were alone!" She said defensively.

"Carter's not the only one we need to worry about. Thanks to your big mouth, my mom keeps asking about us. She wants you over at our house too."

"Well that's fine. At least your mom is nice."

"Your mom wasn't so bad."

Cindy sighed and flopped down on her bed, nearly kicking Jimmy in the face as she laid down dramatically. He followed her lead and soon enough they were both lying there, staring at the ceiling in companionable silence as Cindy thought about his statement.

"She likes you," she replied. "But let's just say...she loved Logan."

Jimmy made a face at the mention of the temperamental boy. "He must've been good at hiding his true self."

"Yeah. Even I didn't realize how he was until after we had been dating for awhile."

"I know you don't like talking about it - but why did you stay with him for so long? Why didn't you break up with him?"

"I was going to. Eventually. He just beat me to it after..."

Cindy kept hers eyes trained on the ceiling even as she could feel him looking at her. "After what?" He asked slowly.

She didn't feel comfortable telling anyone the story of why Logan broke things off with her - she didn't even want to tell Libby or Brittany but they had coaxed the story out of her anyway. But the past few weeks had proved that she could trust Jimmy. It's not like he would tell anyone.

"Logan wanted to...take things further between us," she said, finally looking at him. Jimmy looked confused and so she clarified. "Physically."

Recognition dawned on him and showed in his eyes. "Oh."

"Yeah," she said awkwardly. "And I didn't want to. I wasn't ready...and he didn't want to wait."

"He really is an asshole," Jimmy said.

"In hindsight I'm sort of glad he acted the way he did. I might still be dating him without realizing his true colors if he hadn't."

Jimmy just shook his head. He seemed speechless about the whole thing, and a glance at his face told her that he was _angry_. She changed the subject quickly.

"Since I told you my deepest, darkest secret maybe you should answer this question for me."

"What's that?"

"Why are you so nice?" Cindy asked, her tone a little accusing.

"I told you, you're my friend and I wanted to help you."

"No, I'm not talking about this situation, I mean in general. Why are you so nice to everyone all of the time? That has to be exhausting."

He was quiet for a moment as he thought about her question. "Remember when we were younger, and how we used to fight all the time?"

"Oh yeah. Those were the good ol' days."

He laughed. "Sure they were. But do you remember how I was?"

She looked at him suspiciously. "Is that a trick question?"

"No," he said with a roll of his eyes. "You can be honest."

She smiled indulgently, like he'd just provided her with an amazing gift for no reason at all. "You were pretty damn annoying. Arrogant. Confrontational. Did I mention annoying?"

"You did," he said calmly. "And you're right. I didn't just annoy you, though. I annoyed everyone."

"I'm not sure I would say everyone."

"I would, except maybe my parents and Sheen and Carl."

She snorted. "I think you were just dead set on annoying the shit out of me specifically. We did fight a lot."

"Really, Cindy," he said seriously, and she sobered quickly. "You could've asked anyone, and they would've said something similar to what you just said."

She had the sudden urge to apologize, and opened her mouth to say something but he stopped her.

"After awhile I got tired of the reactions I was getting from people. It didn't take me long to figure out that they didn't really appreciate me rubbing my inventions in their face, or being looked down upon by me, even if I wasn't doing it intentionally."

"So you just…?"

"I stopped being _annoying_ and just started being…nice."

Well that sounded almost too easy in Cindy's mind. "You started kissing ass so people would like you?"

"Uh, sort of. I toned myself down. A lot. I didn't want to keep trying to prove myself anymore. I just wanted people to like me."

They were both quiet for a long time after that, and Cindy felt sad. It was strange. Jimmy was well-liked, but he'd obviously had to work hard at it. She was only getting a taste of what that was like. All this time she had no idea what it was like to be so different from her peers and then teased for it. Most of all, she felt sad that he'd felt the need to change himself to please others.

And was she doing the exact same thing?

A thought occurred to her suddenly. "For awhile I always wondered why people thought you were so great," she said, causing him to look at her with a brow raised. "Because to me, you just seemed like the same, annoying Jimmy Neutron I grew up with."

He grinned. "Well I didn't need to work so hard with you. You're different."

She glared at him, instantly offended. "How?"

"You and I know each other differently. What would you have thought if suddenly, one day I was nice to you?"

"I would've asked for you to take me out of the simulation."

"Exactly."

She poked his arm angrily. "So? I would've gotten over it. Maybe we could've been friends."

His brow furrowed. "I thought we _were_ friends, Cindy. I wasn't nice to you because all the arguing and competing - that's just how we worked. I didn't want to change that."

He seemed a little embarrassed now, but she pressed him to continue anyway with her expression.

"You may have hated me being _annoying_ but you...understood me. At least, I thought you did. Maybe I'm wrong about all of this," he said quietly. "But I've felt like I could just be myself around you."

There wasn't an ounce of dishonesty in his eyes as he looked at her, and Cindy found herself smiling. "You're not wrong," she said simply.

Jimmy lifted up on one arm to look at her fully, and his face was hovering over hers closely. It was suddenly harder to breathe. His lips were slanted over hers in the next instant, and she knew that this should feel _wrong._ They weren't dating. He didn't need to keep kissing her when there was no one else around.

But that knowledge didn't stop her from kissing him back. It didn't feel wrong; with her hand twisted in his hair and her leg wrapped around his and in all actuality it felt right.

That blurred sense of right and wrong scared her. What scared her the most was that was starting to like it, whether it was real or not.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Jimmy had a bit of an issue. Kissing Cindy the first few times had worked well, and if he were being honest, he didn't need any more reminders of how to treat her like a real girlfriend. It was getting easier by the day.

He was getting concerned that he wasn't going to be able to stop treating her that way after prom was said and done.

Lines were getting blurry very quickly - at least in the physical sense they were.

With his eyes closed, he tried picturing Grace instead, but even that wasn't working. His mind kept drifting to the feel Cindy's soft lips on his and the warmth from her hands and body pressed against him.

The sound of the garage door opening, indicating that someone was home, was loud enough to cut through the haze in his mind. He didn't pull away fast enough as Cindy sat up, and in the few chaotic seconds within the fear of getting caught in their position they managed to knock their heads together.

"Shit," Cindy said, rubbing her forehead. "What's your skull made out of, Neutron?"

He was too busy rubbing his temple to think of a comeback. When he opened his eyes again she was looking at him warily. "What was that?"

"Cindy…"

"You can't just keep kissing me out of the blue like that! What the hell is going on?"

He should've known he wasn't able to act on impulse and expect her to let it slide. He had to think quickly before she got really angry. "It was practice."

"Practice?"

He leveled her with a look. " _Practice_ , Cindy. You know...for future endeavors."

She didn't look entirely convinced, and he didn't blame her. It was a lame excuse. "Why didn't you just say something before?"

"I didn't think you would go for it."

"I'm not sure if I do," she as a way to weakly protest.

"Hey, I scratch your back and you scratch mine right?" He said jokingly, and she blushed. "That's not what I meant. I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "It's okay."

"You're not mad?"

"No, I think I understand. You're trying to level up."

He laughed. "Who's the nerd now?"

She surprised him by laughing too. "I've been spending too much time with you apparently."

"I'm not sure 'level up' is the right way to say it but I guess it's more of a confidence thing."

"If confidence could be used as electrical currents, the amount you have could light up the United States for at least fifty consecutive years."

"I'm not confident about everything."

She sighed, looking defeated, and he started to feel guilty for lying. It was not a confidence issue, he didn't actually think of it as practice. He just thought of it as kissing a girl that was his friend and fake-girlfriend, and there was a lot of confusing feelings to go along with said kissing. He didn't want to sort through those feelings.

"I suppose I do still owe you for helping me," she finally replied. She rolled off the bed gracefully, shutting her door with one foot and pressing a key on her computer. A song he didn't recognize started playing softly but he didn't have time to think about that before she was lying next to him again, and they resumed their previous position. He was done trying to imagine Grace in these situations. Maybe it was his lack of experience with the opposite sex, but it was clear to him now that it would be futile to imagine anyone else while Cindy had her small, soft hands in his hair and smooth leg against his.

When she leaned over to kiss him, he didn't hesitate. He met her halfway.

-0-0-0-0-0-

 **This story is getting away from me, guys. It's writing itself. It has a MIND OF ITS OWN. Which is fine, as long as you guys don't mind. Jimmy can be such a manipulator. You know, in the best way possible. ;) Also, denial is a big thing for both of them.**

 **I know Sasha seems really rude right now (which is totally canon) but it gets better. I promise.**

 **I imagine the song Cindy plays at the end is Prom by sza. So good and the title fits the story, obviously.**

 **Next chapter: Cindy will have thoughts about Jimmy wanting to "practice", dress shopping, and more of the tennis girl/Angelina!**

 **Go read my new story if you like to read my stuff. It would be much appreciated.**

 **Please review!**


	11. ice cold confusion

**Hello! I am so sorry for the delay. I feel really bad! I did not mean to leave anyone hanging - that's such a mean thing to do.**

 **I'm working two jobs again, so working over 50 hours a week is not a lifestyle that lends itself to a time-consuming hobby like writing. I also had a few life mishaps that got in the way of my writing and motivation. I will hopefully be better at updating from here on out. Thanks for your continued patience. Enjoy!**

 **The Crown**

"Dress shopping. You, me, and Brittany. Tonight."

Cindy blinked owlishly for a moment. "Isn't it a little soon for that?"

"Prom is less than a month away, Cin! We'll be lucky to get ahold of the scraps left over by the vultures."

"You're being dramatic, aren't you?"

Libby sighed. "Nope. And don't think that we aren't going to talk about you know who."

"Who?" Cindy asked innocently.

Libby gave her a serious look. "Seriously, you've been spending a lot of time outside of school with him."

"We've just been doing some planning."

"Sure," Libby said with a raised brow. "We can talk more about it tonight, while we're shopping."

Cindy knew there was no way to get out of it. She did need a dress after all. She just didn't want to be cornered by her two friends about Jimmy.

When the last bell of the day rang and everyone was filtering out of the school, Cindy was stopped by Angelina, who handed her a thick envelope.

"What's this?"

"The money I made off of the shirts. Sorry it took so long to get it to you."

"It's not a big deal," she replied. "Thank you. I wasn't worried about it, really."

Angelina just smiled. "But the money belongs to you. I don't think you should be worried about winning, either. You might be somewhat of an underdog but that's a good thing."

The tennis player made to walk away but Cindy stopped her. "Are you busy tonight?"

"My tennis match for today got moved because of the rain, so no. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you're going to prom aren't you? You want to go to the mall with my friends and I?"

She didn't miss the way Angelina's eyes lit up at the offer and that solidified her decision to invite her. "I don't want to intrude," she said shyly.

"No such thing of that since I invited you."

"Okay, I'll come," the girl conceded. "I can meet you at the mall in an hour?"

"See you then."

Cindy took a peek inside the envelope as Angelina walked away and nearly gasped. There was a lot of twenty dollar bills inside.

She jumped when she felt a pair of hands on her waist. Jimmy came around to face her, grinning. "What's that?" He asked when he saw the envelope.

"The money that was earned from those annoying shirts."

"That's a lot of money."

"You want some? It's probably the least I could for your help," she said quietly so none of the few stragglers in the hallway would hear.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm not taking any money from you."

She shrugged. "At least I offered."

"Can I come over tonight?"

"Maybe later on. I'm being forced into dress shopping tonight." Her stomach did weird flips at the disappointed look on his face.

"Call me when you get home," he said, leaning down and giving her a kiss she would probably think about all night. With hardly anyone left in the hallway, she had to wonder once again why he felt the need to do it.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Libby and Brittany welcomed Angelina with open arms, treating her like a good friend already. But her presence meant they couldn't grill Cindy about her fake relationship like they wanted, and for that she was happy.

Dress shopping was not Cindy's thing. She felt overwhelmed by the style and color choices after the second store they went into, and by the fifth store, she was ready to call it quits. Libby kept handing her hangers with dresses attached that she would never pick out for herself. Maybe her heart just wasn't in it, or maybe she was overthinking the whole process, but she just couldn't find one she really loved.

Cindy had plopped herself down on an overstuffed chair in the fitting room area as her friends asked her opinion on the dresses of their choice, but they were all immediately distracted by the quiet Angelina stepping out of the fitting room, looking almost nervous. She was wearing an A-line gown in a rose gold color that glittered under the bright lights of the store.

"Angelina, that dress is beautiful on you!" Brittany squealed. "You should get it."

Angelina grinned and did a little spin in front of the mirror. Out of the corner of her eye, Cindy saw her glance at the price tag and wince. Her excitement about the dress seemed to evaporate. When she walked into the dressing room to change and then walked out empty-handed, she didn't hesitate. She was buying the dress for Angelina. She had an envelope full of cash that didn't technically belong to her. There should be more than enough to cover the cost. It was the least she could do.

She didn't know how to approach the situation though. she didn't want the other girl to be offended or embarrassed. Maybe a subtle approach would work.

"You haven't found 'the one' yet huh?" She asked Angelina as they perused more clothing racks.

"I'm sure I can just find a dress to wear at my house, or borrow one of my sisters old ones," Angelina replied with a bitter smile.

"I know that this is going to sound strange, but I feel weird about keeping all this money you gave me. I didn't sell the shirts, you did."

"But the money shouldn't belong to me, either."

"What do you think I should do? I don't feel right keeping it all."

"Maybe you could donate it," Angelina said simply, waltzing off to look at the shoes.

Well, that didn't work _._ She was going to need to be more forceful.

"This is a bust," Libby said miserably. "Let's go to the food court and re-energize ourselves. I'm determined for all of us to find a dress today."

"You guys go ahead, I'm going to use the restroom real quick and I'll meet you there," Cindy told them. When a considerable amount of time passed, she sneaked back into the store to buy the dress for Angelina. She conned the saleswoman to keep the dress in the store so she could pick it up the next day. She needed time to think about how she would give it to her.

At the rate they were shopping, she found never find a dress for herself. But that was okay. She had a feeling that Angelina deserved a pretty dress far more than she did. She had an unused one from last year sitting in her closet, after all.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"I can't believe you took the night off from sucking face with your _girlfriend_ to spend time with us," Sheen told Jimmy sarcastically.

"Are you telling me that if you had a girlfriend, you wouldn't spend any time with her?" The genius retorted, and Carl nodded in silent agreement. Sheen just sighed with a far-off, dreamy look in his eye. Thinking about Libby, Jimmy was sure.

Jimmy's two best friends still hadn't managed to figure out that his and Cindy's relationship was a fake one, but he couldn't exactly blame them for it. No one but Carter, Libby, and Brittany - and most likely Carter's boyfriend Liam - knew the truth. He hoped it would stay that way. He had some lingering guilt from lying to his friends, but he figured that would go away with time.

He hadn't realized just how much time he was spending with Cindy over the past month or two until they suddenly had separate plans that didn't involve each other. It felt...odd. They didn't spend every waking moment together, but it was pretty close. He could chalk the odd feeling up to their _activities_ the night before. They hadn't done anything but kiss, and yet it felt different than all the other times they had.

The three boys were headed to the Candy Bar; mostly because of Sheen's sweet tooth and for the lack of other decent places to hang out. It was a busy place, and the three of them took seats at the bar rather than trying to find a table.

Before they even got a chance to order, a smiling redhead slid onto the stool next to Jimmy. "Hi, Jimmy," Grace said pleasantly.

"Hey, Grace. What's up?"

"I'm waiting on Logan. He's late. Of course."

Grace crossed her legs in a deliberate move, her skirt riding up her legs and she didn't seem to notice or care. Her hair was neatly styled and as per usual, she was wearing her trademark red lipstick.

"So you two...are a thing now?" Jimmy couldn't help but ask.

Her eyes slid over to him slyly and she leaned a little closer, resting her arms on the counter casually. "Why do you ask? Jealous?"

"I-uh, _no_ , I was just wondering-" he stuttered.

She giggled. "I was just kidding! For the record, yes, we are dating. It's still new."

"Congratulations."

"Thanks! Even though originally I had my eye on someone else," she said, her voice lowering so that no one but the two of them could hear. "I still do."

A slim, perfectly manicured hand landed on Jimmy's arm. Grace's skin was smooth, and he couldn't help but freeze the moment she touched him - but not for the reason one would expect. He was used to a different touch from a different girl and what was happening right now felt wrong. Where the pretty girl with bright red hair sat next to him, he wished a blonde spitfire was sitting instead. His spine straightened and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat with that thought.

"Jimmy? Are you okay?" Grace asked.

Jimmy realized that Grace had probably been talking to him but he hadn't been listening. He'd just been staring at her hand touching his arm for an embarrassingly long amount of time. He figured that anyone else might have removed said hand and left the situation, but Grace Walker was nothing if not persistent.

"I'm fine," he said quickly, subtly moving his arm further away from her, breaking her light grip. "I just remembered...I told my mom I would help her with - uh, chores. Yeah. So I gotta go."

Grace raised an amused brow at him and smiled. "You're so nice," she said dreamily. "I've been meaning to tell Cindy that she's a lucky girl."

Jimmy couldn't scramble out of his seat fast enough, gaining odd looks from several people in the restaurant. Sheen and Carl followed him out dutifully but he sort of wished he could be alone with his thoughts.

He was starting to wonder what he had ever seen in Grace - she actually seemed more manipulative and cunning than he previously thought her to be. Why was she suddenly all over him now that he was publicly dating Cindy? And there was no way she was actually _dating_ Logan - most of the school's population couldn't stand him, including Grace - which meant the two of them were probably up to no good. He just didn't know what that could be.

Jimmy couldn't shake off the feeling of wrongness that he'd felt when Grace had merely touched his arm. All he could think about was Cindy. She would be angry if she knew that the redhead had done something like that on purpose, but then again, a lot of things made Cindy angry.

But that wasn't the point. The point was that Jimmy was getting the feeling that he didn't want anyone other than Cindy touching his arm like that, or kissing him.

He stopped in his tracks on the sidewalk, and Sheen immediately bumped into him. Judging by the grunt he heard, Carl had run into Sheen as well.

"What's the hold-up? Why are you acting so weird?" Sheen demanded to know.

"I like Cindy," the words tumbled out of Jimmy's mouth unchecked.

"I would assume so, since you're dating her and all," Carl replied slowly.

"Did you hit your head or something? Or did you lower your IQ again?"

"No, no. I'm fine," he assured his friends. "I just forgot to call Cindy earlier. That's what I meant to say. Sorry."

Carl shrugged and kept walking, and Jimmy nearly started panicking when Sheen gave him a suspicious glance for just a short second before following.

He really needed to get his shit together. And apparently, he had some feelings to sort through too.

-0-0-0-0-0-

When Cindy got home, she tried to retreat up to her room so she could call Jimmy but her mom stopped her before she could sneak up the stairs.

"Where have you been? You missed dinner."

"I went to the mall with my friends." Sasha Vortex raised a brow. "Before you ask, Jimmy was not there."

"I wasn't going to ask that. I was going to ask why you came home from the mall empty-handed."

Cindy rolled her eyes. "Libby insisted that I go prom dress shopping but I didn't find anything."

Her mother's eyes lit up in a suspicious way. "Maybe you and I…"

"Mom, no. I'm just going to wear last years dress since I never got the chance to."

"I donated that dress a long time ago, Cynthia."

"What? Why?!" She sputtered. "Now what am I going to wear?"

Her mother smiled and just gestured for her daughter to follow her upstairs and into the master bedroom. Cindy sat down on the bed and watched as her mother dug around in her massive walk-in closet for awhile before retreating back into the room with a garment bag in her arms.

"I wore this dress at my senior prom," Sasha said, carefully laying the vacuum sealed bag on the bed and reaching for the zipper. "Maybe you'll like it enough to wear it too."

"Wait," Cindy said, confused. "You had your prom dress vacuum sealed? It's been sitting in your closet for that many years? Is that even normal?"

Sasha waved her hand dismissively and continued to remove the dress. "I save everything. Just in case."

"You keep all your old stuff but you donated a brand new dress of mine?"

This entire situation was strange. Cindy didn't know much about her mother's life before she had married her dad and started a family. It never occurred to her that she might have a sentimental side to her - actually, that was shocking as hell.

"Your father may have already spilled the beans about my bout with... _unpopularity_ but I had a lot of fun at prom. I remember being so nervous. It was the first big date your dad and I went on."

Cindy simply couldn't imagine her strong-willed, opinionated mother doing something normal like going to prom or maybe even being nervous about doing so.

The dress was finally uncovered, and she didn't know what she had been expecting - something poofy and tacky, with huge cap sleeves maybe? It had been the 80s when her mom would've went to prom so her assumptions made sense. In reality, the dress was much more elegant. It had a full skirt but it wasn't too poofy. The top of the dress made a deep V in both the front and the back that would show a decent amount of skin, but there was a sheer strip of fabric in the front for modesty's sake. There were delicate flowers sewn all over the torso and past the jeweled belt at the waist, dripping onto the skirt of the dress carefully. It was a surprisingly beautiful dress, and it was dark red.

It wasn't anything Cindy would have picked out herself but she immediately wanted to give it a try.

She wasn't so naive - she realized that this dress was just a different way of her mom taking control of the prom situation. All her life she sort of felt like her life wasn't her own doing - her grades, extracurricular, and even her love life (aka Logan) had some sort of influence from her mother.

Jimmy and prom were different though. Or at least, she wanted them to be. Her mother couldn't have control because they weren't _real._

She tried the dress on and fell in love with it against her own will. She felt pretty. She saw the fond look in her mother's eye thanks to the floor length mirror as she helped Cindy with the zipper and she realized - this might just be a normal-daughter moment, like the ones she always heard about or seen on TV.

She felt a little sad at that thought. Was her mom only being nice because she might win prom queen? What if she lost, would things go back to normal?

She didn't want to find out. She kind of liked how her life was at the moment.

So, _screw it_ is what she thought. She would wear the dress. At least now when she called Jimmy she would be able to tell him what color she was wearing so he could coordinate.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy was helping Carter with his next advice column after the next day - mostly she was lounging in a computer chair as he typed - when an angry Angelina stomped into the room. Her glare zeroed in on Cindy, who froze.

Unable to come up with a better plan, she'd just had the dress sent to Angelina's house. She knew it was going to be a toss-up with how the other girl felt about it; either grateful, embarrassed, or angry. Apparently she'd chosen the latter.

"Is this your idea of a joke?!" She exclaimed, pointing a finger at Cindy. Carter looked alarmed.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm not an idiot. I know you bought the dress. You can take it back, and shove any other pity favors or invites you might have up your ass. You're not who I thought you were."

With that, Angelina left the room. Carter pinned her down with a stare. "Care to explain?"

Cindy didn't want to. She jumped up out of her seat, intending on following the angry girl and to make things right. She left Carter alone with his column and confusion and nearly had to run to catch up to her.

The hallways were empty, so Angelina turned when she heard rapid footsteps gaining on her. She crossed her arms, her body language screaming to the world that she was pissed off. "This better be good."

"I'm sorry," Cindy said, feeling a little pathetic. "There was probably a better way to do what I did. But I know you loved that dress. And I know I wanted to help you."

"Do you realize how insensitive that was? You just assumed I didn't have the money, didn't you?"

"I saw you look at the price tag. I saw the look in your eye. And you did something nice for me - you sold all of those shirts and didn't even think about keeping the money. I was trying to return the favor."

Angelina visibly softened, breaking the harsh eye contact they were previously holding. "I'll pay you back."

Cindy tried not to smile. "No you won't. If you want to be technical, that was your money that bought it. You think I would've gone to the trouble of making shirts and selling them myself? I owed you."

"So you didn't want to owe me anymore?"

"It's not that. I guess I was trying to say thank you."

Angelina shook her head as if she were in disbelief. "You're really something, Cindy."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment."

"Thank you for doing this. Really. Even if it was totally unnecessary."

"Don't mention it." Suddenly, she had another idea. "You can come with our group to prom, if you want. But if you already had plans I understand."

An odd look came upon Angelina's face. "I wouldn't want to intrude…"

"Trust me, you wouldn't be. And you may want to run while you can. My friends are crazy."

"I don't think I'll mind," she responded with a laugh.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy rejoined Carter in the computer lab after her talk with Angelina, feeling good about what just went down. She expected Carter to ask her a million questions as soon as she stepped in the door, but he stayed silent, his eyes glued to his phone as she sat down next to him.

"All aboard the gossip express," Carter said uneasily. "I've got a doozy for you."

"I can't wait," Cindy said sarcastically.

"Word on the street is that your _boyfriend_ was caught being a little too close to our favorite redhead at the Candy Bar the other night."

Cindy instantly felt an almost indescribable type of rage; the angriest she'd felt in a _long_ time. She wasn't going to stand for Jimmy, Grace, or Logan making a fool out of her.

"What exactly does 'too close' mean?" She asked through gritted teeth.

"Not sure," Carter said while scooting his chair back from hers a little. "I'm sure they were just talking. You know how people make assumptions and stories can get twisted."

His words didn't comfort her. She had been through this situation before; Logan was always flirting with other girls when he felt she wasn't giving him enough attention, and she had felt betrayed then but this was somehow worse.

She didn't know why. She supposed it was because Jimmy was her friend and they had already been over the whole Grace thing.

"Maybe I need to go talk to him."

She stood up but Carter blocked her path. "I can't let you leave this room. I would be considered an accessory to murder."

"Shut up, Carter. Stay out of this."

"You're awfully mad at someone who isn't even your real boyfriend."

"I know he's not my real boyfriend!" She exclaimed, frustrated. "But I'll be damned if I let Grace one-up me within my own plan. I know what she's doing. She's trying to sabotage me."

"Getting mad is letting her win, Cindy."

"She doesn't have to know I'm mad. I'm going after Nerdtron right now."

Carter sighed and crossed his arms, still not moving out of her. She was starting to consider using one of her more advanced karate moves on him. "You like him."

It wasn't even worded as a question. He was giving her a knowing look, and it caught her so off guard that all the fight left her body abruptly. "I do not!"

"What are we, twelve? You can tell me. I know all your other secrets anyway."

"You only know one secret, and -"

"Cindy, you and I are friends, right? You can tell me how you really feel."

He gently pushed her backward and she sat down in her chair, stunned. Of course anger was her initial emotion when it came to almost anything. That's just how she was programmed. But she was being force to search deeper than that, and underneath all the rage was...hurt.

The thought of Jimmy flirting with Grace hurt her feelings and made her sad. Well, fuck. That wasn't good. Anger she could deal with. Being sad, though? She didn't have too much experience in that emotion. She usually chose not to wallow in it when it did occur. Anger was certainly easier to use to her advantage. But if she pushed all of that out of the way - only one emotion was still there, and that was whatever one that meant that she _liked Jimmy Neutron_. Carter was smiling down at her now as if he could read her thoughts, arms still crossed expectantly.

"Oh god," was all she could say.

He sighed dreamily in return. "Young love at its finest."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Carter couldn't hold Cindy back for long - if anything, his delay tactics made the situation worse for everyone involved. Now, not only was she angry, she was panicked and confused.

Usually in times like this she would confide in Libby and Brittany, but they were already on her tail about Jimmy - for good reason, apparently. Her back was up against the wall.

She sent a deceptively nice text asking Jimmy to come over. If he knew she was angry beforehand then he would never come over. She sat on her bed and waited, stewing in silence, until she heard her mother calling her name downstairs.

Her family and Jimmy were all smiles when she went downstairs and it creeped her out. Her parents were warming up to him, it seemed. As if needed another reason to freak out.

She urged him to follow her upstairs. "What's wrong?" He asked immediately after she shut the door.

"How do you know something's wrong?"

"When you're mad you tend to radiate anger. I don't even know how that's possible, but this is one of those times."

She rolled her eyes. "I had to hear from Carter, of all people, that you were _canoodling_ with Grace in public the other night! What the hell, Nerdtron? Didn't we just talk about this?"

He raised a brow, not looking intimidated in the slightest. "Canoodling?"

"Flirting. Whatever."

"I did talk to Grace at the Candy Bar when I went with the guys but it wasn't anything different than how we usually interact. Grace has always been friendly."

Cindy threw her hands up in the air. "Oh great. You were probably undressing her with your eyes then."

"You're so dramatic, Vortex."

"I am _not._ You're the one making me look like an idiot!"

"You don't look like an idiot. Can't we just forget about this? Nothing even happened."

She knew that an insult was hiding in his words somewhere - he thought she was being ridiculous. And now that she thought about it, she _was_ acting downright crazy. They were playing a part. He could like other girls. She could like other guys. In his mind, he surely thought she was overreacting.

She was pretty sure she only liked him, though. So of course Jimmy flirting with Grace would make her a little nutso - but she couldn't _tell_ him that.

Something was niggling in the back of her brain. Realization hit her quickly, making her feel nearly sick. "Oh my god. You like her. She's the one you've liked all along."

"Cindy-"

"I should've known. I guess I sort of did but c'mon, Grace Walker?"

The look on his face - one full of unease and discomfort - meant her suspicions were true. It took more than few deep breaths to keep from saying what was on her mind, which was the word _fuck_ over and over again.

"I know you hate her. That's why I didn't say anything before."

Cindy decided to save her rant for another time. She would not be able to filter herself and she would surely end up confessing her feelings in no time if she flew off the handle now.

She sat down on her bed, defeated. "If you want to stop what we're doing, I'll understand," Jimmy said quietly, sitting down next to her. He sat so closely that their bodies touched from hip to knee.

"Seems a little late for that. Prom is only a few weeks away. I already have a dress. It's not like I'll find another date."

He was silent, and when she looked up at him, he was already looking at her intently. When his hand cupped her cheek and his face came closer to hers, she used an amazing amount of willpower to stop him.

"I'm not sure if _that_ is a good idea anymore. It was clearly not working in the first place," she said, putting a hand to his chest.

"Stop talking, Vortex."

"We can't solve all of our problems this way."

"Stop moving your mouth to make words."

"Don't tell me what to do! You drive me fucking crazy, you know tha-"

He kissed her anyway. Confused didn't even begin to describe how she felt, but this part like she liked, so she didn't argue any further. She just pulled him closer.

-0-0-0-0-0-

 **No, it's not realistic for Cindy's parents to keep letting Cindy and Jimmy spend time together ALONE in her room with the door shut...but in this case I don't care.**

 **ALSO! I don't want you all to come at me saying that it's unrealistic for Sasha Vortex to be such a loving mother in this chapter - it's fanfiction and the way she's acting serves a purpose for the story, I promise. If you want to see more in-depth character study of Cindy's mom, go read my story** _ **Dangerous.**_ **;)**

 **And I think the last five chapters have ended with them kissing. Does anyone mind, though? I'm thinking probably not haha!**

 **All of the girls' dresses will be linked on my profile. Let me know what you guys think of them! I actually had fun picking them out.**

 **Prom is almost here, so that means the story is winding down...still feels like there is so much left, though. Please review!**


	12. candid camera

**I think I know why I'm having so many issues writing this story. I'm basically writing blind. Usually I have a pretty thorough outline written or even whole scenes finished for my stories when I start posting them, but this one was spur of the moment and so there isn't much that is planned out. I mean, I know how I want it to end but getting there is a different story. ;)**

 **Hope you all are enjoying this story even though it feels a bit messy at times. Thanks for the continued patience and kind reviews.**

 **The Crown**

Cindy considered herself to be a person who was prepared for anything. Always on her toes. Sharp as a tack.

Things between her and her mother started to get weird the moment Cindy agreed to wear the hand-me-down prom dress. Her mother seemed nicer, more affectionate somehow. It was weird. It wasn't as if they were always at war with each other, but it always felt like there was a small but firm barrier between them. Sasha Vortex wasn't known to be very motherly, and Cindy Vortex wasn't known to ask for motherly affection...even if that was something she wanted.

If she included her fake but somehow wonderful relationship with Jimmy and a couple new friendships thrown in there, life was sunshine and roses.

But she was a suspicious person by nature. Something had to give. Naturally, she figured it would be her own family that did the giving first.

Cindy was sitting on her bed, working on homework, when her mother walked in.

"I'm just letting you know that I'm going to bed, sweetie. Goodnight. Don't stay up too late." Her mother gave her a soft kiss on the temple before turning to leave the room.

Cindy narrowed her eyes and sat up fully. "Mom?"

Sasha turned around. "Yes?"

"What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Her mother asked, confused.

"I mean - what the hell? Is someone in the family dying? You and dad aren't splitting up, are you?"

"What in the world are you talking about? And watch your language," her mother snapped in return. Ah, Cindy thought that sounded much more familiar.

"It's just...things are weird around here lately." She struggled to find the right words to say without sounding insulting. "Is everything okay?"

"Of course," Sasha replied, softening visibly. "Why did you think something was wrong?"

"You're being really nice," Cindy said abruptly. "You haven't yelled at me to do chores in like, three days. That's a record."

To her surprise, her mother just laughed and sat down on the bed next to her. "So maybe I am a little hard on you sometimes."

Cindy just shrugged in response. She was used to it. "I'm just proud of you," Sasha admitted.

"Why?"

"I know you're smart. I know you're dedicated, responsible. But I never thought you would run for prom queen and step outside of your comfort zone. You seem happy."

She could feel herself smiling without meaning to. Her mother patted her on the hand and left the room, shutting the door behind her quietly.

That was nice and all, but Cindy certainly didn't feel like she deserved praise for trying to win the most ridiculous title of all time. Maybe her mother was projecting. She was also a little afraid. Dread started to creep in a little.

What if she lost? Would her mother still be proud of her then?

-0-0-0-0-0-

"I think I hate her."

Libby and Brittany shared an uneasy glance as their friend shifted on her stool at the Candy Bar in a way that said that she was angry - so angry that she could barely contain the physiological response that went along with it. It didn't help that Grace was also there, sitting with Logan and looking smug, like she'd already won prom queen.

Cindy stabbed her spoon into her sundae over and over again mindlessly, not even bothering to actually eat any of it. "Are you going to eat that or just torture it?" Libby asked, trying to dispel some of the tension. The blonde didn't reply.

Libby sighed and lowered her voice. "Grace is going to catch on fire if you keep glaring at her like that."

"She's evil! There's no other way to describe what she's doing," Cindy replied vehemently.

"And what exactly is she doing?" Brittany asked slowly.

"She's dating my ex-boyfriend and flirting with my current one every second she gets," Cindy said, and chose to ignore the words _fake boyfriend_ that Libby spoke under a cough. "What did I do to her?"

"I think you're putting her popularity at risk by running against her. I don't think she can stand the thought of losing."

Knowing that made her want to win more. That was saying a lot, because she already wanted to win _badly._

Cindy glanced over at the redhead again and accidentally made direct eye contact with her. Grace raised an elegant eyebrow and smiled before looking away, like she was offering up a challenge.

She didn't like that look. It was like Grace had read her mind and knew all of her secrets. And Cindy had a lot of them.

-0-0-0-0-0-

With less than two weeks until prom, Cindy was feeling pretty confident. She just needed to keep her cool and she would secure the crown.

That was her hope, anyway.

She felt a little sadness at the thought of it all being over. What would happen? Would her and Angelina go back to being strangers? Would Carter still ask for help with the advice column? Would her and Jimmy go back to being sometimes friends, sometimes enemies...and nothing more?

She did her best to block those questions from her mind. She was enjoying the life she lived at the moment.

They were at lunch when she caught Jimmy looking at her thoughtfully. "Maybe now is time for the true test."

"Test?"

He pointed his fork towards a table across the room - the table she used to sit at with Libby and Brittany, to be exact. Jennifer and a few of her friends still sat there.

Cindy's eyes widened. "Oh no."

"Oh yes," Jimmy replied. "Time to make amends."

"That's asking too much of me."

"You scared?"

Everyone else at the table stopped to look at the couple, curious to see how the situation would play out. Cindy fell for his challenge easily, narrowing her eyes and getting up from the table.

"Cindy…" Libby started uneasily, but the determined girl was already too far away to hear. She turned and glared at the boy genius. "Really, Jimmy? You think that this will end well?"

Jimmy shrugged but a smile lingered on his face. "You'd be surprised at what she can do."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy's bravado slowly started to slip away as she neared the table where Jennifer sat. As she got closer and it became clear to the group of girls that she was intending to sit down at their table, they fell silent and stared at her with mild shock and curiosity.

The blonde faltered for a moment but managed to smile sitting down as gracefully as she could cross from Jennifer. "Do you need something?" the girl asked.

Cindy figured this interaction could go one of two ways. She could play it casual, pretend like everything was fine, and things would probably blow up in her face. Or she could apologize, which would wasn't something she liked doing. This route also had a chance of backfiring, but it felt right to do.

"I owe you an apology," she said, feeling surprised that she actually meant it. "I was rude to you for no reason. Sorry about that."

Jennifer looked surprised for a moment but then immediately, a suspicious look formed on her face. "You're just trying to get me to vote for you, aren't you?"

Yep, this was blowing up in her face already.

"No," Cindy said quickly. Then, much to her dismay, the word vomit started happening. "I already know you probably won't vote for me. That's fine, I probably wouldn't vote for me either. Just do me a favor and don't vote for Grace Walker."

Silence reigned for a few moments before the group of girls started laughing.

"You don't need to worry about that," Jennifer said with a smile. "If there's anyone who I dislike more than you, it's Grace."

"Good to know our feelings are the same on that particular subject."

"So you really just came over here to apologize?"

 _Something like that_ , Cindy thought. "I'm trying to be a better person."

Jennifer nodded. "Not bad for your what seemed to be your first apology...ever."

Cindy bit her tongue so a sarcastic comment wouldn't pass through her lips. She faked a small laugh instead. "Sometimes I wonder why I was nominated for prom queen in the first place," she said, half-serious and half-kidding. The other girl eyed her with a strange look. "What?"

"You don't know why?"

"What, like you do?"

Jennifer stabbed at her salad for a few seconds. "Grace nominated you on purpose. She's in my gym class, and she was bragging about it the next day in the locker room. I think I heard her say something about an easy-win."

"You're shitting me."

"Trust me, I wouldn't lie. I also wouldn't protect that snake. She knew I liked Martin Garetski during freshman year and she still asked him to homecoming. Stole him right from under my nose."

Cindy already knew that Jennifer could hold a grudge, but she didn't know just how long those grudges lasted. Apparently a _long_ time. "She thought that by nominating me, she could easily win prom queen?" She could feel a deep hatred burning inside of her at the thought.

"I thought you knew and were just rubbing in Grace's face that you didn't care," Jennifer added. "It's been fun to watch."

Beyond that anger, she felt a little sad knowing that even Grace knew that she was so thoroughly disliked by the student body that there was no way she would win the title of prom queen. Talk about a blow to the self-esteem.

She got up from the table and was ready to stomp off, but she realized she should probably play dumb. Showing her anger would only cause less people to vote for her, right? She couldn't exactly tell Grace off in the middle of the cafeteria. She stopped and turned back to Jennifer. "We're good, right?"

Jennifer shrugged. "Sure. But for the record, I'm voting for Hannah. She's much less dramatic."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Cindy practice some of her best calming methods, and when she got back to her table where everyone in their group was eagerly awaiting her arrival, she just shrugged off their questions.

"It went fine," she told them. "She's not mad."

She didn't divulge what she'd learned about Grace. She needed time to think about what Jennifer had shared. She didn't even know if it was true or not, but it seemed to be like something the little witch would do.

She knew she could trust Libby and Brittany, but the bell rang and they all went to class, meaning she would have to fill them in later. When school ended, the only person readily available to her was Carter since she already promised to help him with the paper. So she told him the whole story, which only managed to rile her up even more than before.

Carter pushed on her shoulders not-so-gently so that she sat down at one of the computer chairs. Retelling the story had her ready to hunt Grace down and teach her a lesson. "We need to figure this out. What are you going to do?"

"I could push her down a flight of stairs."

"I don't think you'd have any chance of winning after that," Carter said rationally.

Cindy crossed her arms and sighed. "I'm fucked."

"This doesn't change anything. People that were planning on voting for you will still do so. You finding out that Grace nominated you doesn't make people like you any less. Trust me when I say it's a struggle that's entirely internal. I guess I should be asking - what should you _not_ do going forward?"

She ignored his question and focused on the first part of his little speech. "That may be true but this whole situation just keeps getting worse. What's next? Everyone finds out that Jimmy and I aren't really dating and that I don't really want to be nice to them?"

Carter looked frustrated. "What does Jimmy think about all this?"

"I haven't told him."

He rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "You are shaving years off my life, Cindy. Let's really go over this, what are you going to refrain from doing?"

"Confronting Grace publicly?"

"How about confronting Grace at all? It'll ruin things for you. Just lay low, keep doing what you're doing, and win that crown," he said knowingly. "And the second that cheap, flimsy piece of children's jewelry is nestled on top of that blonde head of yours, you punch Grace straight in her perfect nose."

He smiled evilly and she found herself returning it. That sounded like an okay plan. "You think I should tell Jimmy?"

Carter sat down heavily in his desk chair and rolled closer to his computer, focusing on the screen. "I just think he deserves to know. He is your boyfriend."

" _Fake_ boyfriend."

"Sure, sure. You love him anyway."

His words made her pause long enough that he looked back at her curiously. "You do, don't you?" She refused to answer, just rolling her eyes. But she knew she was slightly blushing and that was giving her away. He just laughed and shook his head.

"When you know, you know. Just ask Liam. He…" he trailed off.

"What?" Cindy asked.

"The webcam on this computer is on," he said suspiciously. Cindy didn't know much about computer besides the basic things like how to use the internet or how to use it to do her homework - anything beyond that bored her.

"So?"

Carter clicked a few things and shrugged. "Could be nothing. Could be that you turned it on when you in a murderous rage a few minutes ago. Your hands tend to fly around in a ridiculous fashion."

"Very funny," she replied sarcastically. "Are we done here? I need to find the girls and talk about this some more."

"Fine, but we have to actually work on the column tomorrow. And I'm coming with you."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Jimmy felt a little bad for forcing Cindy to talk to Jennifer, but he was glad to know that it had gone well. Maybe that would increase her chances of winning even more.

He was also a little uneasy about their most recent interaction up in her room. He hadn't meant for her to find out that he liked Grace. He wasn't so sure he liked Grace anymore; she'd sort of proved that she wasn't as nice or genuine as she seemed.

In all honesty, Jimmy knew why he didn't think about Grace as much anymore. It was Cindy. This fake-dating thing had made him realize that Grace wasn't ever going to be the right one for him. He could fully admit now that he'd developed real feelings for the blonde, he just didn't know what to do about it.

He'd probably ruined things by letting her believe that he still liked Grace. Half of him couldn't wait until prom was over and things could go back to normal, the other half of him dreaded it. He didn't want to go back to how life was before he started fake-dating Cindy. He wanted to continue dating her but in a non-fake way.

He groaned. Love was making him dumb.

He found himself knocking on Cindy's door and knew it was a little late in the evening, especially on a school day, but it was too late for that now.

Cindy herself answered, a confused expression on her face but she smiled when she saw him. "What are you doing here?"

"Can we talk?" He asked, feeling a little nervous. She eyed him suspiciously but led him upstairs to her room. She gestured for him to be quiet. Her parents must be asleep.

He sat on her bed and she perched herself next to him. "What's going on?" she asked quietly.

"Last night, when we talked about Grace -"

She waved her hand around dismissively. "I'm over it, okay? You can't help who you like."

 _Wasn't that the truth,_ Jimmy thought. "Well, that's good and all, but I should've explained some things to you. I used to like Grace but I don't have feelings for her anymore."

Cindy paused. "You don't?"

Maybe he was imagining things, but he thought she sounded hopeful, if just barely. "Nope. I don't want you to think you have to worry about her getting in between us…"

"...in between our fake relationship," she said, and his stomach dropped. So maybe his feelings aren't reciprocated after all.

"Yeah," he said, looking down at this hands.

"Jimmy."

The sound of her voice made him look up at her, and she looked happy. She leaned in and kissed him softly but it still felt powerful. Like she was trying to tell him something. When she pulled back - much too soon for his liking - she was still smiling.

"After prom is over, if you still feel the same way, let me know. Then we can talk."

He could agree to that. He went home a little while later, feeling more content than before. Nothing solid had happened between them, but he could feel the promise of something more to come. He knew she was completely unaffected by things like he'd previously thought, and he was hopeful.

Unable to sleep, he opened his laptop once he was in his room. He saw he had an email from someone he didn't recognize, and that there was a video attached to it.

The first thing he noticed was that the email had a _long_ sending list, including his friends, Cindy, and most of their classmates. Some people he didn't even recognize. When he opened the video he could tell it was from a basic webcam, and the thumbnail was just Carter, and he was barely in the shot since he was standing a little off to the side. Dread filled his body slowly. This couldn't be good.

He pressed play but had the urge to watch it with his eyes covered. There wasn't much to see, though. Cindy was barely in the frame; it was mostly Carter. All he had to do was listen.

Carter's voice was first. " _We need to figure this out..._ "

Jimmy watched the video in its entirety more times than he could count. He didn't know what to do, how to react. Cindy had admitted on the video that their relationship was fake, and when Carter insisted that she loved him, she hadn't denied it. She hadn't agreed with him either, but the her hesitance to answer made his heart beat fast.

Despite that, this video was not good, and the consequences weren't going to be pretty.

-0-0-0-0-

 **The bad news? This cliffhanger. The good news? I've already started writing the next chapter!**

 **Throw out some ideas of what you want to see next or what you** _ **think**_ **will happen. I love hearing predictions. Most of you get it spot on!**

 **Please review!**


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